Pokemon Go Adventures
by BonesxBreak
Summary: Candela, Blanche, and Spark must walk where legends walked—as they compete in the Kanto Pokemon League for a chance to win the right to call themselves the leaders of Valor, Mystic, and Instinct, they are faced with deadly challenges that no one can conquer alone. They have a lot to learn before they're ready to lead anyone. Action/Adventure, Romance. Rated M.
1. Prologue

_**Pokemon Go Adventures**_

 _ **Season 1: Kanto Region**_

 _ **Prologue**_

* * *

 **[Candidate #17, Kanto Route 22 — GO Challenge Day 10]**

Summer was still in its prime, and the path beside Victory Road was brutally hot.

The instant Blanche opened her mouth to issue a command, her opponent's pokemon flicked his ears towards her in nervous anticipation. He had a tiny horn and was a runt compared to the average male nidoran, yet his poison had been surprisingly potent—a sure sign that he was close to evolving. She scowled down at the scrappy little pokemon, then turned a thoroughly disappointed frown toward her own violently trembling pidgey.

The impromptu battle had barely begun and she was already losing badly. Blanche bit her bottom lip hard, frustrated that she'd underestimated her opponent so severely, like some ten year old rookie. _Perhaps a Spearow would have been a more practical catch for the short term, but Pidgey has that promising third stage evolution. I mustn't be too harsh, he has potential for greatness._

Far from pleased with his performance, Blanche said nothing as she recalled Pidgey. With her fist still clenched around his pokeball, she glanced up to meet the satisfied smirk of the trainer across the clearing. Judging by her sudden demand for a battle, it seemed likely that she was also a competitor for the "Pokemon Global Organization Challenge," casually known by most candidates as the "Pokemon GO Challenge."

As she took a moment to collect her thoughts, Blanche scanned her opponent for weaknesses. The trainer was deeply tan and a bit taller than Blanche, with short brown hair, a vibrant smile, and catlike amber eyes; her posture was confident and composed, as if she was always ready for anything. Based on the color scheme of her outfit, her personality, and her absurdly strong pokemon, she was obviously aiming for a spot in Team Valor.

Since the first day of the competition, Blanche had yet to meet another Mystic hopeful in her own age group, which meant that she was either significantly ahead or woefully behind her real competition. She exhaled slowly and returned Pidgey's pokeball to her belt; strategizing in the middle of battle was not her strong point whatsoever. Initially, her plan was to feel out the strength of the enemy trainer before showing her own hand, but it seemed this was one who liked to go all out from the very beginning. Her pidgey—a recent catch with little training—was severely outmatched, and had only had time to use one weak move before a single Poison Sting completely crippled it.

"Not that I'm in a hurry, but I hope you come up with a killer strategy soon." The Valor hopeful's smile was friendly, her tone relaxed, her arms crossed over her chest—to Blanche, it was _definitely_ mocking. The nidoran pawed the ground, eagerly mimicking his trainer's natural confidence. "We seriously hate easy battles."

 _Strong pokemon, smug attitude, and a perpetually cocky expression. She'll go far in Valor._ Committing the girl's appearance to memory in case they met again later, Blanche bit the inside of her cheek to keep any rude witticisms from leaving her mouth. It wouldn't do to get riled up, and misrepresent the team she aspired to join.

"Indeed," Blanche replied, her tone clipped. Seconds relentlessly ticked by, but she was still hesitant about her next choice. She fingered one of the pokeballs on her belt, unsure of who to send out next. "I won't repeat my earlier mistake."

 _Squirtle would be more than a match for this nidoran, and he may even evolve upon victory._ But could she risk the blow to his confidence should he lose? _No, not when I'm about to challenge Pewter's gym._ Finally, Blanche shook her head in an attempt to banish the hesitation from her thoughts, and unclipped a pokeball.

"Your turn, Nidoran." _My female nidoran is weaker in level, but her typing and bulk should mitigate that ridiculously strong poison attack well enough._ "Let's see what you've learned."

"C'mon Spike, show that cutie what we practiced!" His trainer punched the sky. Immediately, the male nidoran reared up on his stubby back legs, chirped harmlessly, then jabbed upwards as best he could with his front feet. "Focus Energy!"

Blanche stared blankly for a moment, cautiously waiting to see what the move would do, then raised a curious eyebrow. When nothing at all seemed to happen (aside from the nidoran mimicking part of his trainer's exercise routine) she allowed herself a slight smirk of her own.

"Looks like it failed. My turn, then." Bright green eyes narrowed at her target. "Double kick, now!"

With a fiercely determined expression, Nidoran obediently sprinted forward, her back legs kicking up tiny clouds of dust. Blanche analyzed her every move. They'd practiced this together dozens of times: just before she would have tackled him bodily, Nidoran twisted around and landed two solid, simultaneous kicks on the enemy. The male staggered backwards, moderately damaged, and Blanche shouted some mildly enthusiastic praise.

"Excellent work!" The female simply held her head high, gracefully poised, and prepared for the next set of instructions. Blanche smiled proudly. "Now, while he's recovering—"

"We aren't finished just yet!" The other trainer was grinning even more widely than before. She posed dramatically, one hand on her hip, the other pointing down at Blanche's pokemon. "Spike, let's demonstrate a real Double Kick."

"That won't do much damage," Blanche muttered quietly, watching intently as the male bolted energetically towards her own partner, who also watched it warily. "According to the Pokedex, females have much higher defensive statistics."

Blanche's mouth dropped open as Nidoran was thrown into the nearby pond with a small splash. She'd fainted instantly. Shoulders drooping slightly, Blanche stepped forward into into the water and gathered the unconscious pokemon in her arms.

"You did well," she said, sinking to her knees in a patch of short grass. Cradling her nidoran carefully, she looked up to see a serious expression on her opponent's face. "I concede."

"See Spike!? I knew you could do it!" The enemy nidoran hopped about excitedly, practically blushing at the generic praise. The trainer turned to her with a lopsided grin. "One day of training and he's already fitting in with the rest of the group."

Once Nidoran was safely stored away, Blanche leveled a suspicious glare at her opponent. She was approaching where Blanche was still knelt in the dirt.

"You are surprisingly competent." Blanche allowed a wry smile to cross her face, and took the hand that was offered with a small shrug. "I underestimated you."

"'Every loss is a lesson' and all that jazz." The other trainer pulled her to her feet and gripped her hand with surprising strength, smiling genuinely. "I'm Candela, by the way."

"Blanche." She studied the other girl again, this time with less pride coloring her perspective. She was standing across from her, still tightly grasping her hand. Blanche reached into her pocket to give the other trainer her winnings. As she began to compliment how well trained Candela's " _Spike_ " was, a sudden crash behind her made her spin around.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Candela had already pushed past Blanche to help the young man—a blonde teen around their age who seemed to have just had a serious cycling accident on the path beside them—to his feet. "That looks pretty bad."

"Nah, I'm fine," he said, brushing off the knees of his pants and shaking out his wrists. After rummaging through his backpack for a moment, he rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "I got bored biking back and forth from here to Cerulean trying to hatch some eggs, so I was trying out some SICK TRICKS to spice the trip up a bit, and then I saw you guys—did you just have a battle?"

"Indeed," Blanche said dryly. "If you can call it that."

"That's awesome, can I fight whoever won?" He was beaming with innocent excitement.

"That'd be _me_." Candela immediately took a serious battle stance—the fire in her eyes looked dangerous. Blanche took a step back. "My name's Candela, you look like you'd put up an interesting fight. Three pokemon each okay?"

"Sweet, I just bought this amazing Pokemon from a guy for like five bucks." Candela was halfway through an 'eh, never mind then' when the newcomer dramatically threw a pokeball towards the shallow pond. "I'm Spark, and this is **VICIOUS KILLER!** Show me what ya got!"

A strange orange fish flopped into the pond with a weak _splish_. It seemed to be struggling just to breathe.

Blanche stared in amazement. Candela's determination faltered for a moment before she burst into laughter.

"No offense, but I think you got ripped off," Candela managed between snickers. "I forfeit. Can't possibly win against something like that."

"Call an Officer Jenny," Blanche added, nodding seriously. "This kind of fraud can probably be penalized with steep fines."

"Pfft, he's already getting stronger!" Spark recalled his weird fish with a grin and casual shrug. "By the way, I think some of my eggs are close to hatching. Either of you guys want one?"


	2. Chapter 1

**[Candidate #12, Pewter City — GO Challenge Day 15]**

It was almost noon, and the Pokecenter was filled to capacity with other Go candidates logging their progress and getting items from the "Poke Stop" set up in the back corner. A long line of defeated trainers who were waiting to get their party restored to full health stood around the front desk, taking turns badgering the local Nurse Joys for faster service.

The official's face was blank as he flipped through the pages of Candela's Pokedex. He was a heavy set man of middling age, with pale skin, a thick blonde beard, and a gruff, gravely voice. His hair—or lack thereof—was covered by a white, wide-brimmed hard hat that went oddly well with the rest of his mismatched hiking gear.

"Twenty five unique Pokemon species seen, but only eight owned." He scribbled something onto a small pad of yellow legal paper, then continued in a disinterested monotone. "Five pokemon evolutions recorded, and one unhatched egg. Good job. Work on catching more wild pokemon to get ranked higher. You can get free Pokeballs by registering for our special, _limited time offer_ -"

"I know you're just doing your job, but my gym battle's in ten minutes." Candela's expression was a pained mixture of apologetic and impatient. She clutched an egg the size of her head tightly against her chest. "Can you skip the sales pitch this time around?"

"Fine. Once I input your battle record you can be on your way."

The Pokemon Global Organization official said nothing more to her as he continued to scroll through her Pokedex, recording some notes and muttering quietly as he went. His pencil lead snapped as he glanced at the last set of data. He looked up from his notes at the girl who was practically running in place in front of him and frowned. He held out the Pokedex for her to take back.

"Your overall ranking is-"

"Thanks, gotta go!" Candela snatched the Pokedex from the official and sprinted for the entrance, leaving a chorus of "Hey!" and "Watch it!" in her wake.

Opening the front door with her back, Candela immediately turned right and barreled towards the huge building that was directly behind Pewter city's Pokecenter.

This time she shouldered the door open gently, taking deep breaths to relax her nerves.

 _Time to find out if they're as strong here in Kanto as they say back home._

As soon as she stepped in, she was greeted by a hearty pat on the back.

"Yo, Champ in-the-making! You made it just in time!" A little old man stood beside her, with dark grey hair, thickly rimmed glasses, and a tiny black hat. "You've got about four minutes to get in there and break some legs."

"No problem!" Candela said, stepping forward into the battle arena. She observed her surroundings, taking mental notes about the terrain along the way. Jagged rock, large boulders and mini mountains were scattered on either side of the field. In the center was a wide, mostly clear dirt path, ideal for ground types who like to burrow. Spectator stands raised up against the walls on the left and right were mostly empty, and Candela's eyes caught on one familiar face sitting in the bottom row.

"Hey Blanche!" Candela jogged towards the white-haired girl, waving up at her energetically with her free hand. "Here to wish me luck by any chance?"

"Something to that effect." Blanche's expression was serious but not unfriendly. In her lap was an egg slightly smaller than Canela's. "I saw you on today's roster and decided to observe your battle. I've seen how I fare against you and thought it would be a good reference point for my own challenge."

"How about we train together after I win?" Candela stood on her toes and gently placed her egg on the seat beside the other girl, right on top of her neatly folded jacket. "Anyway, cheer for me!"

Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heels and swaggered back onto the field. The ground was as solid as concrete, and she could feel every sharp stone and pebble through her shoes, but Candela kept her shoulders back and her stride steady.

 _An environment that's perfect for rock and ground types, but hostile to anybody else. Just like that old guy warned me yesterday. Guess I can trust him after all._

There were three trainers and a referee waiting for her. The one furthest back shouted loudly and with authority as she approached.

"Are you ready to begin?" The man sat on a raised platform, his legs crossed, and his hands motionless in his lap. He was well-muscled, deeply tan, and completely naked from the waist up—she couldn't guess his age at all. He seemed both bold and patient, just like a mountain.

"Damn right I'm ready!" Candela shouted back, taking a battle stance. "Let's get started!"

The two trainers that had been silent so far took up strategic positions on the field. One, a cocky looking brunette jumped on top of a particularly large boulder, while the other, a younger teen who looked vaguely similar to the leader sat in the middle of the dirt path.

"This will be a 2v2 double battle. No switching is permitted." The referee left the field and stood just in front of the stands. "The challenger may strike first."

At the sound of a faint "Do your best" from the crowd, Candela grinned and threw two pokeballs onto the field.

"Spike! Peaches! Come on out!" Nidorino and Mankey appeared right on command, huffing and hopping about with excited confidence. "Just like we practiced."

"Rocky, let's crush 'em!" A giant rock pokemon came into view, shaking the ground as it landed. It was like a segmented train made of huge, polished boulders that got progressively smaller towards the tail end. Its trainer seemed very smug.

"You too, Geodude." A much smaller rock creature, with two arms and a small, rounded body, took its place beside the first.

"You may begin when ready," the referee announced, before blowing a high pitched whistle twice. Candela didn't hesitate for even a moment.

"Peaches, use Low Kick on the big one. Spike, Focus Energy!"

Before the enemy pokemon could react, Peaches was hopping over boulders and rock with incredible agility. She deftly dodged a slow, defensive swipe of the giant's tail and landed a powerful kick on its lower body. As expected, the move dealt heavy, super-effective damage, and the bigger pokemon toppled to the ground sending clouds of dust in every direction.

 _Looks like it was a one-hit KO. Fighting type moves really do take these guys out quickly._

Meanwhile, Spike had lowered his body close to the ground and was concentrating hard on gathering his strength.

"Geodude, Rock Throw. We'll target the nidorino for now." Silently, the pokemon hefted a sizable boulder above its head, then launched it with surprising speed.

"Dodge it! Dive to the left!" Candela shouted, hoping Spike was agile enough to make it out of way. The nidorino reacted quickly, but only escaped the danger by a hair's breadth. Candela hooted with pride. "Great job, buddy! Now, Peaches, use—"

"Rocky, Dig!" The pokemon that seemed to have been incapacitated earlier suddenly tunneled through the dirt so rapidly that it would have seemed to have never been there at all, if not for the enormous hole it left behind. She could hear it roaring thunderously underground, could feel the ground vibrating beneath her feet, and so could her pokemon—Peaches slapped the ground with her palms in utter fury, while the spines on Spike's back bristled sharply.

"Alright Peaches, Karate chop the little guy." Happy to have a target to unleash her wrath upon, Peaches practically flew forward through the air, shrieking madly as she went.

The instant she landed on the Geodude, she delivered a devastating blow to the top of its head. An inanimate boulder might have been split neatly down the middle, but instead, the pokemon merely fainted.

This time, Candela waited until the young trainer reluctantly recalled the defeated pokemon to celebrate.

"Awesome work, Peaches!" Candela's mankey jumped about happily, her anger placated for the moment. She noticed Nidorino's ears twitching every which way a moment too late. "Spike, move!"

"Now, Rocky!" Without any further warning, the rock pokemon emerged from the ground directly beneath Spike. When the heavily damaged nidorino tried to stand up again, he immediately collapsed—at the same time, the enemy pokemon twitched slightly. It seemed to have been poisoned after touching Nidorino.

Livid with herself for missing such an obvious ambush, which resulted in Spike getting hurt needlessly, Candela recalled him quietly.

"Let's get serious, Peaches. Focus energy." The mankey lowered her body and crossed her arms. Flames of determination seemed to surround her.

"Polish up, Rocky!" The enemy trainer shouted, and a bright metallic sheen seemed to appear on her pokemon. It twitched in pain again, taking damage from the poison. "Now, Dragonbreath!"

Moving faster than Candela thought possible, the giant pokemon unleashed a powerful ranged attack. As the blast barreled towards Mankey, she shouted a new command.

" _Assurance_!"

Peaches dodged the blast expertly, then launched a flurry of powerful, furious blows on her opponent. The pokemon fell to the ground motionless, and the referee blew his whistle.

"Onix is unable to continue battle. The challenger wins!"

Excited beyond measure, the mankey hopped over to her trainer. Candela ruffled her fur and praised her for a job well done before recalling her, but her celebration was notably muted.

 _That battle was a lot closer than I wanted. This is going to be tough._

"You've done well to get so far, challenger!" The man, presumably the gym leader, stood and approached the battlefield. "State your name!"

"I'm Candela, from the Unova region." Candela pointed at herself with a thumb, smirking slightly. "Hope you're ready to give up that badge."

"Well, you've certainly traveled a long way, miss." He retrieved two pokeballs from his belt and came to a stop where the younger trainer was previously sitting. "My name is Forrest, and unless you've got some serious rock-hard determination, you won't be getting this badge."

"This will be a 2v2 double battle. No switching is permitted." The ref stepped back. "Once again, the challenger may strike first."

"Come out, Graveler. You too, Steelix."

A fairly large, craggy, four-armed boulder landed with a loud _crash_ , crushing the unfortunate rocks beneath it. It waved its upper arms in the air and tucked the lower set tight against its body.

Candela cursed under her breath.

The second pokemon was something else entirely.

At least double the size and weight of the previous rock-snake pokemon that had appeared, this one was positively _massive_ , and had an extremely intimidating air about it. Candela sized her enemies up, then selected two pokemon of her own.

 _That gray pokemon is probably another Rock/Ground type with very good defense, and that silver one must be a steel-type. No sweat._

"Delta, Peaches, no holding back!" Candela's Charmeleon appeared with an arrogant growl. Mankey offered a happy chirp, excited to be chosen again so soon. "I'm counting on you two!"

"Begin when ready."

"Delta, lay down a Smokescreen!" Charmeleon leapt into action, covering the enemy's side of the field in thick black smoke. "Peaches, give the big guy your best Screech."

As Mankey jumped into the air and released a glass-shattering shriek, Candela covered her ears, as did her Charmeleon. The move wouldn't hurt its allies, per se, but it was still obnoxiously shrill.

"Graveler, use Defense Curl! Steelix, Slam—target the mankey!" Right on cue, a long tail lashed out of the smoke, narrowly missing her pokemon. The ground was heavily cracked at the point of impact, and Candela was sure a human would have been killed instantly.

"Neither of you can get hit by a single attack!" Candela shouted, the urgency in her voice shining through clearly. "Delta, hit 'em with a Flame Burst!"

Charmeleon took a deep breath, then released a powerful torpedo of fire into the smoke. A pained groaning could be heard from within, followed by a small flash. Finally, a bright spark of flame could be seen, indicating successful burn and splash damage.

"That's my girl!" Candela punched the air, her blood hot with adrenaline. "Peaches, charge up a Focus Punch! We'll finish the smaller one with one hit!"

"I don't think so—Graveler, Rollout!" The rock pokemon began to roll with fearsome speed, visible even through the smoke. "Target the mankey! Steelix you too, try another Slam!"

Candela cursed under her breath. It was an obvious tactic, to go for the pokemon that had already been weakened, but it still felt a little dirty.

"Delta, you know what to do! _Metal Claw_!" Candela smiled with pride as she watched her charmeleon fly into action without fear or hesitation. She took the hit from Rollout—super-effective, but relatively weak on the first hit—then countered with a fierce slashing attack that left deep gouges in the rock pokemon's body. As it landed, Delta released a huff of blue fire from its mouth, evidence of her Attack stats increasing.

Almost simultaneously, Peaches finished charging her punch. With a loud yell, filled with determination, Peaches unleashed her full strength in one punch. The Graveler was launched backwards towards his trainer, and lodged into the face of a pseudo-mountain, completely knocked out.

"FUCK YEAH, NICE WORK-" Candela started to say, then closed her mouth as she watched the enormous tail swing down. Unable to dodge quickly enough due to her injuries, Peaches fainted upon impact. She recalled the unconscious pokemon, speaking softly. "Good work. You were incredible."

Candela bit her lip hard, thinking rapidly. _My charmeleon is barely damaged, but that steel pokemon took a fire type move without even flinching... Or did it?_

With a strategy in mind, Candela regathered her composure.

"Okay Delta, it's all up to you!" The Pokemon growled aggressively in response. "Give him a Fire Fang!"

Candela watched intently as her charmeleon rushed into the smoke towards the giant. She leaped boldly onto its body and bit into it as hard as she could, flames bursting out of her mouth. The steel pokemon reacted by thrashing its body about until it succeeded in throwing her off.

This time, the damage it took was much more obvious. It groaned even louder in pain, and sparks of flame where it was consistently taking more burn damage were evident all over its body.

"Not bad, but how will you deal with this?" The leader seemed confident he would win, despite her pokemon being mostly healthy. _Not a good sign._ "Steelix, an Earthquake should end this."

Instead of following its trainer's command, the massive pokemon flinched. Before Candela could order Delta to strike, it succumbed to burn damage and slumped over.

"Forrest's pokemon are unable to continue. The challenger wins!"

The leader's jaw dropped open, his air of superiority and confidence replaced by an expression of pure bewilderment. Even Candela was too shocked to congratulate her pokemon. Shaking it off after a moment, Forrest approached her with an embarrassed smile.

"I really took you for granted," he said, reaching out a hand for her to shake. "I didn't even mega-evolve Steelix. If it were my brother, I wonder if it would have been the same outcome."

"Far as I'm concerned, a win is a win." Candela shook his hand with genuine enthusiasm. "Thanks for such a great battle."

"As proof of your victory, here is the BOULDERBADGE. You're officially a contender in the Indigo League, now." He presented her with a dark gray, octogonal badge. Candela took it out of his hand with pride. "You and your pokemon have shown some rock-solid determination, and have already grown stronger by gaining that badge. Good luck on your journey."

"You're damn right we have!" Delta growled blue flames in agreement, and Candela beamed while recalling her.

As Candela turned to leave the arena and head for the stands, she was surprised to find the white-haired girl was already standing nearby.

"That was an outstanding performance," Blanche said, a faint smile on her face. She was carefully cradling both eggs, which were wrapped snuggly in her jacket. "I think my team and I would benefit greatly from—oh dear."

Both of their eyes widened as the eggs in her arms began to wiggle frantically.


	3. Chapter 2

**[Candidate #17, Mount Moon — GO Challenge Day 18]**

They'd been wandering around in the damp, musty cave for over two hours, yet somehow they had still yet to see an exit. Blanche's legs were terribly sore, and her patience had been stretched to its absolute limit.

The sad part was that they weren't even lost.

"We should make a left to get back to the basement's entrance."

"Nah, I heard some water dripping by that wall over there." Candela was grinning, a pair of pokeballs already in hand. "You said there's a species that likes to nest in moist places in here, right?"

Rather than dignify that with an answer, Blanche stopped walking. After shifting the softly snoring bundle of fluff in her arms, she checked her map for the third time in two minutes. An ugly scowl crossed her face as she scanned their surroundings for recognizable landmarks, enemy trainers, and strong wild pokemon.

 _If we had simply turned RIGHT at the cave entrance we would have been in Cerulean city an hour and a half ago. Now, night will fall before we find our way out, and who knows what kind of undesirables lurk around in these caves after dark?_

"Listen, don't worry so much," Candela said, nudging her with an elbow a bit too sharply. Her usual playful grin was securely in place, but Blanche did not return the expression. "I know you just wanna get out of here, but think of it as a chance to get stronger for the next gym."

Blanche said nothing as she fell into step with Candela once again. The larger of the two baby pokemon that were nestled in the blanket she held mewled quietly, and something shuffled in the shadows above them in response.

"And hey, I'm sure there's a ton of stuff in here that could help with your research," Candela continued, looking as though she were simply taking a quiet stroll through Pallet Town and not traipsing about in one of the Kanto region's notoriously treacherous caves. "A guy back at the Pokemart mentioned that some native pokemon worship this rock goddess that lives on the mountaintop, and that they all evolve together after performing some weird ritual—"

"I don't care about the local legends. Would you _please_ stop brushing off everything I say?" Blanche bit the inside of her cheek before she could make another regrettable, poorly-worded comment, and looked everywhere but the other trainer's face. Keeping her voice down and her tone flat despite the sharp swells of anger and fear she felt was maddeningly difficult, as if Candela's hotheadedness was contagious. "I'd very much like to study every pokemon in this cave, but we should prioritize our safety. It's more dangerous than you seem to realize."

"Oh please, most of the pokemon in here are barely stronger than the bugs in Viridian." Candela scoffed and waved a hand, vaguely gesturing towards the charmeleon standing beside her. "Either way, we'll jump into action at the first sign of trouble."

"It doesn't matter if they're weak individually," Blanche said, now staring at the ceiling as she walked forward. If she listened closely she could just make out the sound of sharp claws scraping against the cave ceiling. They would be active soon. "The nocturnal, predatory species most common here live in massive colonies. If they swarm us unexpectedly, not even your most powerful pokemon has the kind of wide area abilities that would adequately protect us. Furthermore, what if—"

"Come on, trust me a little! If worst comes to worst, we've got it covered. Besides—" Candela's expression hardened for a moment before melting into a reassuring smile. "There isn't a damn thing in here that I'd let hurt my friends."

"I'll leave it to you, then."

Blanche's mouth clicked shut. She made no further objections, not out of agreement so much as a strong desire to not attract the attention of the veritable _horde_ of golbats hanging above them, not to mention the highly toxic parasects that were undoubtedly lurking in the cave's moist corners. She managed to refrain from grinding her teeth with some effort, but she could do nothing to stop the sudden rush of blood to her cheeks.

She brushed a long string of damp platinum hair out of her face, fuming silently. They walked at a brisk pace in spite of Candela's desire to stop or make a detour at every opportunity for battle. The air tasted distinctly of mildew. Beside her, Wartortle kept a vigilant watch, and quietly growled a warning whenever a wild pokemon began to approach them—his mere presence made for a very effective deterrent. Meanwhile, Candela shouted commands at her Charmeleon as they crushed their fourth trainer of the evening.

Sighing through her nose, Blanche chose a nearby boulder to sit on until their battle finished. Wartortle dutifully stood at her back, protecting their rear from ambushes.

 _She's probably just as annoyed with me as I am with her. We should part ways after this._

The smaller pokemon—the runt, _her_ Eevee—wheezed quietly beside her sister, whom Candela had yet to name. Blanche gazed down at them thoughtfully. After they'd hatched in her arms, the eevee siblings had both immediately identified Blanche as their mother based only on the fact that she had been holding their eggs when they emerged. While the larger one came to accept Candela as her actual trainer, she had absolutely no desire to be prematurely separated from both her 'mother' and sister.

Candela found it funny and cute, while Blanche was saddled with the majority of their care—feeding, cleaning, cuddling, and, of course, their direct protection. It was an unexpected responsibility that left her hands perpetually full, but they had both grown on her quickly enough to make up for the hassle. She kept her strongest pokemon out at all times to defend them, and wasn't particularly looking forward to being separated from the larger eevee once it was mature enough to train with Candela.

As a result, she and Candela had spent a great deal of time together even after Blanche successfully defeated Pewter city's gym leader. But, while Blanche had come to admire Candela's natural talent for battle and confident personality from afar, their prolonged proximity to one another had begun to wear on her nerves.

Their training days together had gone wonderfully. Blanche glanced behind her at Wartortle, who had worked extremely hard to become Delta's equal in strength—still, he could only defeat her five times out of ten, on a good day, despite his clear type advantage. All of their pokemon got along well, and some of them clearly respected Candela quite a bit. Yet, they could barely agree on anything outside of the battlefield. They argued incessantly. They had precious little in common.

The battle seemed to drag on, and Blanche watched the ceiling for movement. There wasn't much to speak of, and her train of thought drifted again.

 _Should I bother trying to talk to her about this? No, there's no point. She'll just brush me off again._

Compromises were nearly impossible to reach, and seemed to always leave both parties uncomfortable or upset. Candela seemed to be better at rolling with their differences in personality, but that may very well have been because she usually ignored Blanche's input and got her way. And to be honest, Blanche didn't actually mind all that much. Usually. Their disagreements had never been about anything particularly pressing before they entered Mount Moon.

They'd argued at length over whether or not Wartortle should keep two defensive moves, or replace both of them with damage dealing attacks. They actually had compromised on that, with Wartortle forgetting Withdraw to learn Rapid Spin, and keeping Protect. It was an extremely handy move when successful, and had been vital in her battle with Forrest.

Whether or not having _two_ pokemon with the same move was worthwhile was another argument. Candela didn't think so, and had a good case for variety, and her Poliwhirl reluctantly forgot the move.

Blanche stood, still deep in thought, as Candela accepted her winnings from the defeated trainer. Once again, they silently fell back into step together.

Blanche watched the other girl as she laughed and tossed a large berry to her partner, who scorched it before happily biting into its flesh. Candela was adventurous, brave, confident, enthusiastic and capable. She was trustworthy and honest. Blanche liked those things about her, generally speaking. They had become friendly acquaintances remarkably easily, and enjoyed and benefited from each other's company for the most part.

The other part, however, was quite a different situation. Candela could be brash, reckless, and bullheaded. Always assumed her way forward was the best. She would listen to Blanche's concerns and then actively decide to disregard them. She also seemed to have designated herself the 'leader' of their casual 'team.' Did being better at battling make her qualified to make important decisions for both of them, like lingering in a dangerous cave long after sunset?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Blanche decided it wouldn't necessarily hurt to follow her lead for the time being and see where it took them.

Candela broke the silence first.

"Looks like there's something up ahead." The dark haired girl pointed toward a narrow corridor before them. Indeed, Blanche could just make out the dull glow of something embedded in one of its side walls. "Let's check it out, yeah?"

Blanche said nothing, but took wary steps towards the pale silver light. Her eyes widened as they drew closer.

"If this is what I think it is, I owe you a sincere apology."

"Don't worry about it." Candela shrugged, a satisfied look on her face. Delta snorted, cheeky as always. "What exactly do you think it is?"

Blanche didn't answer right away, absorbed by her thoughts. Her mouth fell open as her bare fingers brushed against the stone's cool surface. At the sound of Candela clearing her throat, she collected herself enough to speak.

"A genuine moon stone. It will instantly evolve certain pokemon who are exposed to its radiation." Blanche smiled, her earlier frustration suddenly undetectable. "You were very fortunate to find one."

"Can't you just buy Evolutionary stones?" Candela raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. Beside her, Delta cocked her head to the side, adorably curious.

"Not this type. Well, not in Kanto at least. Moon stones have been harvested to the point of scarcity in this region." Blanche looked back, her small smile both astonished and resigned. "I believe Nidorino and Nidorina are both compatible."

"If it's that valuable we should grab it before someone else does." Candela tilted her head toward the stone, and without further prompting, Delta stepped forward and dug her claws into the solid rock wall as easily as if it had been a soft block of cheese. She scooped out the silver rock and delivered it to her trainer, who examined it in her hand with a smile before tossing it to Blanche's Wartortle. "You guys should have it."

"Are you sure?" Blanche asked, trying not to sound too reluctant. She really wanted the stone for herself, for her prospective team's research into the evolutionary habits of different pokemon species, but it was Candela's find. "We may not be lucky enough to come upon another one, for Spike."

"Matches your hair," Candela said, and that was that. Wartortle carefully placed the stone in Blanche's item pocket. "I wonder what else is just lying around down here?"

"Well, I suppose it won't hurt to look if we're taking our time to leave regardless." Blanche handed Wartortle the sleeping bundle of eevees, who fussed over being disturbed, and excitedly consulted her map again. This time, she didn't notice the flush in her cheeks enough to be embarrassed. "According to a clerk I spoke to at the Pewter Museum of Science, there should be a fresh fossil dig site nearby. I doubt any archaeologists will be there at this hour, but we could poke around—"

A shrill scream interrupted her musings. Above them, the Zubat and Golbat colony burst into life. The cacophony of fluttering wings and angry screeches was nearly deafening. Delta and Wartortle both jumped protectively in front of their trainers, but Candela took off in the direction of the scream without hesitation. Delta was on her heels instantly.

"I'm going!" Candela called behind her, looking back only once. Wartortle looked up at Blanche, waiting for his instructions. "Stay here, both of you!"

"Wait, it isn't safe," Blanche said, much too weakly for Candela to have heard. The cave walls trembled around them, and the screeching grew increasingly more violent. They heard more shouting, one of the voices distinctly familiar. She motioned for Wartortle to return the baby pokemon to their blanket in her arms. "Let's back them up. Be ready for anything."

Blanche sprinted forward down the narrow tunnel, Wartortle close at her heels. The walls seemed to close in the deeper they went, and the telltale sounds of an intense battle became clear. Blanche decided to secure the twins in her backpack while she still had the space to do so. She left the zipper open at the top so they could still breathe easily and held the bag close to her chest with one hand.

The tunnel reached its tightest point, and Blanche turned sideways to press forward, her back flush against the cold, jagged stone. At the very end it opened up into what appeared to be a large, well-lit chamber. She couldn't see much through the small opening, but what she did see was alarming enough to make her heart race. She squeezed through the entrance and stumbled into the cavern, Wartortle close behind. Time seemed to slow as she took in the situation.

 _There_ —half a dozen people and their pokemon lying on the floor, either motionless or writhing in pain, surrounded by heavy machinery. Dark puddles glistening in the light. _The archaeologists from the museum? The dig site?_

 _There_ —Candela's charmeleon tangled in combat with an arbok and weezing. She was on the defensive, injured badly, and barely holding her own. The arbok wrapped her up in its coils and squeezed mercilessly, while the weezing continuously released its thick smog. It looked like she had already managed to take down a parasect and graveler, but why hadn't Candela sent out backup?

 _There_ —Candela herself fighting two-on-one just like her partner. A woman looked on from a far corner, filling a bag with rocks, but that wasn't important. Blanche watched, paralyzed, as she jumped to the side to dodge the swing of a switchblade only to get punched hard in the face.

 _Gang members? Thieves?_

The man with the knife dove forward as Candela stumbled back. A large gash appeared in her jacket. For a moment, Blanche's brain simply froze.

 _There are only two choices. Help them or run._

"Support Delta from a distance, and protect the twins!" Blanche thrust her bag towards Wartortle and ran forward, pulse pounding in her throat. _Stay calm. There isn't time to panic_. Her body began to move of its own accord, and two pokeballs appeared in her hands as she met the eyes of one of the assailants. "Pidgeotto, help Wartortle. Poliwhirl, with me!"

"Blanche, don't!" Candela shouted, but her back was against a wall. "Go get help!"

Instead, she blindly charged the man with the knife, shouting for his attention as she went. She did not have anything resembling a plan, but he stopped his assault on Candela and turned to face her. He was wearing a form-fitting black bodysuit identical to that of his comrades, one of which had stepped in to resume his fistfight with Candela. His hands were gloved, white, and his blade dripping wet. Blanche's eyes widened, and her steps faltered.

 _What the hell am I doing? I'm just going to get myself stabbed._

"Poliwhirl, use Double Slap!" Candela was the one who shouted the command, and Blanche was grateful for the time it gave her to think. The other man yelled at his pokemon, and she could hear the rush of water behind her. Then, more shouting, more voices, a blast of cold wind, and a sharp hiss of pain. Candela continued to shout, and Blanche resumed her charge. "Go, Peaches, Spike, Buzz—"

Fighting a person and battling pokemon couldn't be too different, Blanche thought. While the man was still reeling from the first two slaps, she threw her arms around his waist and tackled him to the ground. _Now, the knife. I have leverage_. She tried to pin his wrists despite being significantly weaker physically. After a short struggle, he reached around her arms and punched her twice in the back of her left shoulder. She barely felt the blows, and smiled to herself.

Ha, adrenaline rush, she thought, and resumed trying to wrestle the bloody knife from his right hand. Her head felt strangely light as he flipped them over. _I'll probably have a nasty bruise there tomorrow._

Blanche was shocked by how warm and wet the ground was against her back. Both of her hands were clamped around his wrist, but it felt like she was guiding the blade to her own chest as he plunged it downward. Her arms seemed boneless.

"PROTECT!" Candela screamed, but nothing happened. Blanche studied the man's face—he was a little older than she was, but probably still a teenager. He seemed scared when Candela dragged him off of her. She sat up slowly, feeling strangely cold, and watched Candela kick him in the ribs until he stopped moving. The other men, now at least four in number, stepped towards her, but Candela took her time wrapping the first guy up in an Escape Rope. Her Beedrill hovered beside her menacingly.

"Leave the newbie, it's not worth it!" someone called from far away. Feminine voice. Blanche vaguely noted the sound of multiple pokemon being recalled. Then, rapid footsteps, retreating. "Just take what we came for!"

"Yeah, you better fucking run!" Candela's voice, coming closer. Seconds seemed to float by. Blanche looked up. Wartortle was by her side first, carrying her bag with a desperately worried look on his face. He was followed closely by Candela and a few of the injured archaeologists. Poliwhirl carried Pidgeotto, who seemed to have fainted. Blanche smiled up at all of them.

"Looks like we ran them off," she said. Her smile faded when she met Candela's eyes. The other girl reached down for the pokeballs on her belt, and recalled all of their pokemon except for Wartortle and Poliwhirl, the least wounded of the bunch. "How are the others?"

"They're all fine—some cuts, some poison." Candela looked furious. A grave-looking woman helped her remove Blanche's jacket—more red than white, somehow—and together they carefully wrapped a bandage around her chest and upper back. It felt entirely too tight, and annoyingly wet. "Does it hurt? Can you stand?"

"I'm fine, but what about you? I saw you take a hit." Blanche answered immediately, but made no effort to move. The older woman reached down to check her pulse, and Candela pulled her to her feet. "Could we rest here for a little while? I'm exhausted."

"Her pulse seems weak," said the woman. Who asked you, thought Blanche. "She needs a doctor."

"Just a short nap," Blanche said. Usually she had more stamina than this, but somehow her limbs felt like overcooked spaghetti noodles. "I only need maybe five minutes. All that walking, you know?"

"No rest for idiots," Candela said, draping Blanche's right arm across her shoulders. She picked her up under the knees when Blanche's legs gave out. "Hey now, don't fall asleep. I know you don't realize it, but you've been stabbed. Badly."

"Really? That isn't good." Blanche looked down, not quite believing her. The wet spot on her chest had spread out across the white wrappings like a rose in bloom. She couldn't tear her eyes away. "Oh no. That's a lot of blood loss. I'll attract the Golbats..."

"Don't look at it or it'll start to hurt," Candela said sharply. Blanche looked up at her with glassy eyes. "Does it hurt? What the hell were you thinking, rushing a guy with a knife? What do we do? She's bleeding like the bandages aren't even there."

"Seemed like you needed a hand," Blanche said, smiling vacantly. It didn't feel like she'd been stabbed at all. _Must be shock. Must be bad._

"We aren't medical doctors. This girl needs immediate emergency help," the man said. She couldn't make out his facial features. The older woman beside Candela nodded, her face still grim, but growing more indistinct the longer she looked at her. "Make her drink this Max Potion. It won't help much, but it'll lessen the pain once she starts to feel it."

Someone tilted her head back. A bitter liquid filled her mouth, and she swallowed so it wouldn't drown her.

"Get her to Cerulean. Their hospital is better equipped for traumatic injury than Pewter's clinic."

Candela shifted her in her arms, and the back of her shoulder burst into flames. She looked up at Candela, who was staring down at her with vaguely yellow eyes.

"Lemon drops?" Blanche said. Her surroundings grew more indistinct moment by moment. "Hmm. Interesting."

"We dug a tunnel that leads directly to the exit." A new, masculine voice. Was that the same man from the museum? Doctor so-and-so? He was supposed to call her to talk about her theory regarding a potential evolutionary link between an ancient fossil pokemon and Charmander. She hoped he wouldn't forget. "We'll call ahead for you."

 _Yes, please call. The skulls look so similar! It may not be a coincidence._

"Use this Max Repel and get going. Don't stop for anything until you reach the city."

The voices grew more distant. Soothing. Blanche closed her eyes.

"Go! Don't let her lose consciousness!"

"We still have to thank you both properly!"

The hands that held her were surprisingly warm.

"Hey! Don't you dare faint on me you damn moron—"

 **BLANCHE BLACKED OUT.**


	4. Chapter 3

**[Candidate #12,** **Mt.** **Moon — GO Challenge Day 18]**

Candela sprinted down the narrow tunnel, her clothes soaked in blood and sweat. Blanche was heavy in her arms, motionless, and seemed to be growing colder moment by moment. She'd stopped shivering some time ago, and now her upturned lips were turning baby blue in the dim lights that lined the cave every few meters.

She looked like she was laughing at a joke only she could hear. She looked peaceful. That wasn't good.

"Come on, wake up already!" Candela shouted between shallow, gasping breaths, mostly to distract herself from the nagging pain in her limbs. Blanche was past the point of regaining consciousness so easily, that much was obvious, but it made her feel better to try anyway. "You're gonna be fine. Just stay with us."

The tunnel was crudely dug, filled with large rocks and random mining equipment scattered haphazardly along the path. She could hear Wartortle and Poliwhirl behind her, desperately fighting back the swarm of golbats that were chasing them as they ran. She didn't even care if the noise they made somehow attracted more.

"Water Gun! Hypnosis! Careful with that bag, Wartortle!" Candela rattled off random instructions without even looking back. She only needed them to keep the troublesome wild pokemon at bay until they reached the exit, and it didn't matter how they went about it. She wished she had a free hand so she could get the help of some of her uninjured pokemon as well, but there just wasn't enough time for them to stop for any reason whatsoever.

While the zubats and other weak pokemon kept their distance, the golbats were either too high level or too strongly attracted to the stench of blood to be deterred by even a Max Repel, which was a shame, because the damn things had _very_ sharp teeth and a healthy thirst to match.

Some heavy machinery that came up to her shins appeared in their path, and while Candela hopped over the obstacle cleanly enough she stumbled on the landing. She dropped to one knee hard, careful not to fall forward, then sprang back into a flat jog.

"Ugh, get off me!" Candela cried out as a large golbat landed on her shoulder. She shrugged it off just as a second one sank its fangs into her back, easily piercing both her jacket and the bodysuit beneath it. "Guys, a little help up here!"

Candela tensed as it drained her, but kept moving forward. She hated not being able to defend herself properly. One of Blanche's pokemon swatted it away from her quickly enough, but by the time they got back up to speed she felt significantly weaker than before.

Candela grit her teeth and pushed herself to run faster, ignoring the sharp pain in her muscles and the bruises from her fight as well as the new, extremely itchy spots on her back. The screeching behind them grew louder still, but she could barely hear it over the whirlwind of thoughts rattling around in her head.

 _They can suck so much out of you with a single lucky bite._ _If even one of them manages to get to Blanche, she's_ _done for._

She could taste the end of the tunnel before she saw it. The outside air was crisp with subtle notes of recent rain. She felt an immense sense of relief as it finally came into view. She could just make out the midnight blue sky through the small opening. Candela grit her teeth and the three of them ran with renewed determination.

"Look, we're almost at the exit!" Candela shouted at Blanche and her pokemon, but kept her eyes forward. The soreness in her arms and legs was almost too harsh to ignore, but she could keep going. She had to. Even after they left the cave, they'd still have to make it to the city and meet up with emergency services. "Keep breathing for me, alright?"

Candela staggered through the tiny exit hole with her eyes closed. The sounds of screeching and Water Guns grew faint. At the first sign of a breeze she sank to her knees, panting hard. She could feel Wartortle and Poliwhirl standing protectively on either side of her, and managed to smile.

"Just need a minute to rest, guys," she said between breaths. She wanted to fall asleep right there on the ground, but opened her eyes and stood before five seconds had passed. "Alright, now let's..."

Candela's words died on her lips as she met the stares of the half dozen gangsters standing around them in a semicircle. They wore tight fitting black uniforms, with silver gloves and boots, and each of them was flanked by two pokemon. She saw raticates, arboks, parasects, and some species she didn't recognize.

Most of their hats were tilted down to cover their faces in shadow, but the large scarlet letter emblazoned on their chests clearly identified their organization.

 _Great. Just what we needed right now._

* * *

 **[Candidate #2, Cerulean City]**

Spark stopped pedaling, and tilted his head towards the worried voices nearby. He had one more egg to hatch for the daycare that night, but it was hard not to notice the small group of people that had been standing around the pokecenter arguing loudly for at least fifteen minutes.

"Shouldn't they have arrived by now? Yes, they definitely should have." The young Officer Jenny seemed flustered as she paced up and down the same stretch of dirt like a caged arcanine. Beside her, three Nurse Joys, their chanseys, and the officer's growlithe looked on. "What do we do? Call the police? Yes, of course! No, no, that's me—"

"Um, Officer? The cave is only five minutes away." One of the nurses gently raised a hand. The officer whirled on her, eyes wide and gun drawn. "You could always, um, meet them halfway? Make sure they make it to the city safely?"

"At this hour? Are you crazy?" Realizing that there was no immediate danger, the Jenny holstered her weapon. "I'll get mugged for sure!"

"But Officer, those trainers desperately need our help-"

 _Welp, that's all I need_ _to hear. But what the heck are they learning at the Academy these days?_

Spark popped a wheelie and rode for Mount Moon.

* * *

 **[Candidate #12, Route 4]**

"Everything alright there, kid?" The man in the middle of the group stepped forward, a large, slow moving pile of sludge by his side. "Didja get lost in the big scary cave? Need some help?"

The group laughed, and Candela stiffened. Dark clouds obscured the moonlight overhead, threatening rain.

"Those water pokemon appear to be within the level range we're looking for." The woman standing next to the guy who spoke first gestured to Blanche's Wartortle and Poliwhirl, but kept her eyes firmly on Candela. "And the price of Kanto starters is up abroad."

"We have plenty of squirtles, though."

"Not many wartortles, and none so close to evolving."

"Speaking of broads, she's kinda cute, innit she?" A male voice to her right, surprisingly close by, was followed by a snicker. The first two Rockets said nothing more, and seemed to be waiting for her to respond. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing out so late?"

"Knock it off, rookie."

"Whaaaaat? It's a fair question!"

Candela felt Wartortle's shell press against her right leg and smirked, unfazed.

 _They're trying to rattle us, but I'm not some ten year old brat. I could take them AND their low level throwaway pokemon._

"We're just fine. Thanks for the concern, though." Candela's smile was humorless as she approached them. The adrenaline pumping through her body made her forget the pain and soreness in her arms and legs. _I have to act first. Take control._ Predictably, the group tightened around her the closer she got. "Mind letting us through?"

"You sure you don't need any help?" A new voice to her left, closer than expected, chimed in. Candela didn't turn away from the leaders and continued her approach, trusting Blanche's pokemon to watch her sides. "Your friend looks pretty sick."

"I dunno, she looks kinda _dead_ to me." The guy on her right stepped closer to get a better look at Blanche, and Wartortle growled. "I know a guy up in Lavender who can help take care of that body for ya—"

"You and your guy can both go fuck yourselves. How about that?" Candela pulled the girl closer to her chest. Blanche gasped quietly, and Candela could feel her taking short, shallow breaths. "I need to get her to the hospital, so stop wasting my time."

"Then why don't we just cut to the chase." Candela came to a stop directly in front of the apparent leader as he spoke, her chin tilted upwards to look him in the eye. "The entire area from the spot where you stand to the Cerulean city limits is Rocket territory."

"As a result, we require a small toll from you and your friend there to pass through," the woman beside him continued casually. "Think of it as a trade. As long as you cooperate, you can both be on your merry way."

Candela tensed, ready to challenge all six of them, ready to fight them tooth and nail. She was about to reach down to grab a pokeball when she saw Blanche's ghostly pale face and returned to her senses.

"What do you want?" Candela closed her eyes for a moment, barely able to get the words out. When she opened them again, she felt all of her earlier fatigue come rushing back into her bones.

"All the cash you have." The man smiled and Candela felt a sickening hatred boiling in the pit of her stomach. "And just _your_ money. We'll give your sleepy friend a break tonight as a show of good will."

"Yes, but before she thinks we're too generous," the woman continued, openly eyeing Blanche's Wartortle. "I think two pokemon will be sufficient. One from each of you bright young trainers."

Candela opened her mouth to shout orders, to fight, but quickly closed it again. Blanche was still limp in her arms, still gushing blood from three deep stab wounds.

 _At least twelve pokemon between the six of them, most of them second stage evolutions. And that's just what they have out right now. I only have Blanche's two close at hand, and they're tired. We're wasting time she doesn't have._

"Wartortle." Candela ground her teeth hard enough to crack a stone. When she spoke again, her voice was hoarse. "Back left pocket. Give her my wallet and two pokeballs."

Dutiful as always, Wartortle obeyed without hesitation, his eyes glistening wet. He was smart, like his trainer. He understood the situation right away. Delta would have protested, would have spit fire and brimstone and fought to the death even if she told her they couldn't. Candela bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Smart choice." The woman took the wallet from Wartortle and tossed it to her partner. She scanned the contents of the pokeballs with some device and raised an eyebrow. "They're both suitable."

"We'll let you be on your way now," the man said, throwing her wallet at Blanche's Poliwhirl. "Hope your friend makes it."

The Rockets spread out to let them through, and she sprinted forward wordlessly. She barely had the strength to run anymore, but anger and fear and desperation pushed her forward anyway.

The city came into view, and Candela began to feel lightheaded. Unable to run any further, she plodded along, each step heavier than the last. The first drops to fall were fat, but few and far between.

"Poliwhirl, I need you to run on ahead to get help." The tears came just before the rain fell in earnest. "I can't carry her much farther, and definitely not in a storm."

The poliwhirl rushed ahead, and Candela's knees began to quaver. Wartortle chirped something at her, and she shook her head. She could barely see through the blinding rain, and shivered uncontrollably.

"Hey Blanche," Candela said, stubbornly taking another step and ignoring the screaming pain in her arms and legs. "If you think I'm letting you die right outside the city because of a bunch of _stupid fucking bastards_ like them, then..."

Wartortle pulled at her coat as she dropped to her knees. Her head felt like a balloon, her chest like it would burst at any moment. She could not stand back up, no matter how hard she willed herself to.

"Heyyyyy, is this your Poliwhirl?"

The silhouette of two figures, one vaguely Poliwhirl-shaped swam into view, and Candela smiled through her tears.

"Then you're stupid, too."


	5. Chapter 4

**[Candidate #12, Cerulean City Outskirts — GO Challenge Day 18]**

"I'll be right back for you," Spark said, shouting over the thundering downpour. He slung Blanche's limp body over his shoulders fireman style, and hopped on his bike as effortlessly as if he was only carrying a burlap sack. "Try not to move too much, okay?"

"Just hurry." Candela's voice was dull with exhaustion. Wartortle handed Spark the twins and she watched them disappear into the rain. She stood slowly, her muscles aching with every tiny movement.

Candela touched her cheek where it had swollen and looked down at Blanche's pokemon.

"I'm going back for them."

Wartortle grunted angrily at her and she nodded once, taking Blanche's backpack from him. As modest as ever, Blanche's Poliwhirl stood to the side, waiting patiently for her instructions. Candela thought back to her time helping Blanche prepare for the Pewter gym.  
 _  
"Poliwhirl doesn't need Protect if Wartortle has it."_

 _I was so fucking wrong. She might already be dead because of me._

Candela shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. Then, careful not to disturb Blanche's precise arrangement of blankets and pillows any further, she rummaged around in the other pockets and pulled out four lavender spray bottles.

"Remind me to replace these for her. She'll be pissed if I forget." Candela's voice was quiet as she sprayed Wartortle and Poliwhirl's scrapes and bruises with two of the potions. After unscrewing the top off of the third, she chugged the bitter blue liquid and stretched her muscles, then returned the empty bottles to the bag to dispose of later.

The pain and soreness in her muscles didn't go away completely, but after a few minutes it became muted enough for her to ignore for the time being.

The fourth potion she used on one of her two remaining pokeballs—Delta had been moderately injured during their encounter with the thugs in the cave, but the potion would just about bring her back to full health. Fortunately, Spike was perfectly ready to fight.

Wartortle growled insistently, jabbing his little claws behind them, towards Mt. Moon, but Candela was too lost in thought to pay him much attention.

 _Blanche and I rescue a group of scientists and are nearly murdered for our trouble. Then as soon as we make it out of that hellpit there are Rockets on the other side, ready to rob us. There's no way that isn't connected._

Shaking with anger, Candela stripped off her soaking wet red and white coat and tossed it to the ground—even in the dark she could tell that the bloodstains would never fully come out. The thin fabric of her black bodysuit was soaked through immediately, and she shivered as she got used to the sudden cold.  
 _  
_ _And I just handed Buzz and Peaches over without hesitation. Without a fight. Unforgivable_.

"You two stay here." Candela rubbed rainwater out of her stinging eyes with the back of a gloved fist. Wartortle shook his head vigorously, and Poliwhirl thrust her own fists into the air in agreement with him, uncharacteristically fired up. Candela shook her head, already turning to walk away. "It's my battle to fight, and you aren't mine to risk."

Before Candela could take another step she felt Wartortle insistently tugging at her legs. Candela said nothing more, her throat too tight for her to speak, and the three of them took off running back to Mount Moon.

The Rockets didn't see them coming, too deeply engrossed in their operation and distracted by the heavy rain to pay much attention to their surroundings. They hadn't left the spot where Candela was mugged, and obviously hadn't been expecting any retaliation. Delta and Spike flanked her alongside Blanche's pokemon, almost as enraged as she was.

"Be careful with those! They're priceless and you're letting them get soaked, you lackwits."

The man who'd taken her money was nowhere in sight, but the woman who'd wanted Blanche's wartortle was shouting orders at two grunts off to one side, while some of the various pokemon she'd seen earlier now had their hands full loading up their haul. The others, along with the rest of the Rocket grunts were nowhere to be seen.

Candela was close enough to vaguely make out the woman's facial features, and that she had bright scarlet hair tied into a ponytail underneath her black cap.

 _I bet she still has Peaches and Buzz on her. These guys were probably working with the ones who stabbed Blanche._

As the thought crossed her mind, a blinding, white-hot fury bubbled up inside her chest and she abandoned all prior notions of being subtle or sneaky.

She didn't care what they'd been doing, or why.

She wanted blood.

The Rockets were busy packing up whatever setup they'd had outside the cave. Candela hadn't noticed earlier, but a bunch of large duffle bags indistinguishable from the ones the thugs used at the dig site were being loaded onto the back of a small black pickup truck.

There were only three people and five pokemon in total, half as many as were present during the mugging. The woman's back was to her. Candela sprinted forward with nothing resembling a plan.

"Operator, behind you!"

At the same moment that the woman's stone grey eyes finally met her own, Candela threw a wild right hook with all her might.

The suckerpunch would have hit the woman square in the jaw, but a solid wall of purple goop appeared just in front of her, completely absorbing the blow. Candela took a step back, ripping her hand out of the goo before it could suck her in. The stench of the pokemon stayed with her even after she shook the slime off her hand. She was suddenly glad she was wearing a thick pair of gloves.

"Well done, Muk," the woman said, her shocked expression turning dark. Rainwater dripped off her chin to splatter the toes of her boots, and she tapped her left ear. "Opera 3, midnight check-in. Cargo processing may be slightly behind schedule. Red trainer on site, five pokemon. Threat level is yellow."

"Just keep 'em busy. GO RAISE HELL!" Candela shouted, and the four pokemon at her back bounded towards the trucks. Delta stayed by her side, bluish white flame coiling around her sharp teeth. The large, lumbering slime pokemon 'muk' slid protectively in front of the woman.

 _What is that thing? Poison Type? Doesn't matter, I'm just going to wing it.  
_  
"I'd heard Valor aspirants were impetuous, but this is pathetic." The red haired woman glanced behind her, watching as Blanche's wartortle fearlessly engaged a raticate and parasect. As she turned back to face Candela she signaled for the nearby Rocket grunts to approach before taking a half step back. "You really expect this to go well for you, somehow."

"Give me back my teammates and I'll let you walk away." Candela stepped forward, her fingernails digging sharply into the palms of her clenched fists through her gloves. Even in the rain Delta's tail remained brightly lit, and as she lashed it back and forth Candela could feel the temperature rising around them. "I don't care about anything else, and I won't ask nicely a second time."

"Yes, understood. I'll evaluate them now," the Rocket said after touching her earpiece again. She was still staring at Blanche's wartortle. A short distance away, the Rockets' pokemon were fully occupied in battle, while the two men casually sauntered up behind Candela. "Take care of the brat for me. Muk and I will round up the rest of her team."

"Oh, we'll take real good care of her, don't you worry," one of the men said before lunging forward with a left hook. Candela spun to the side and the blow only grazed her shoulder, but it still stung. "Maybe that dumb mankey will listen to me after I teach her old trainer a lesson!"

The group's leader began to walk away, and Candela saw red.

* * *

 **[Candidate #2, Cerulean City — GO Challenge Day 19]**

Spark pedaled hard. The heavy rain made the path slick, but skidding was a risk he had to take.

Although his clothes had quickly gotten soaked, he could feel Blanche's warm blood running freely down his jacket. She was completely limp, and he couldn't tell if she was still breathing.

Whatever happened to them at Mount Moon had been rough.

The nurses he'd eavesdropped on earlier met him just outside the entrance to the city's pokecenter, a large building that doubled as a human hospital. Though the growlith was still with them, the Officer Jenny was nowhere in sight.

"Where's the other trainer?" the head nurse asked as he let his bike topple over and rushed towards them.

"I'm going back for her now." He pulled Blanche off of his shoulders and thrust her into the nurse's arms. The eevee twins awoke as he handed them to a different Joy, and began crying immediately. "Where's Officer Jenny?"

"Getting help from someone competent," the nurse said, her eyes flitting over Blanche's injuries. "It's been crisis after crisis since she got here. Criminals running amok. This is a bit much for her first week."

"This is a bit much in general," Spark said. Even for Team Rocket, random murders were out of the ordinary.

None of the Joys had any further questions for Spark as he helped them lift the unconscious girl onto a stretcher. The head nursed barked orders at the others, who worked rapidly along with a team of chanseys to secure her and carry her inside.

"Don't just stand there looking concerned, help us apply pressure before she finishes bleeding out."

 _Aw crap. It's just a skeleton crew tonight._

Spark left his bike where he dropped it. He really hoped Candela was still right where he'd left her. She hadn't seemed like she was in any condition to move, but anything could happen.

When he'd done all he could to help, he watched the small team wheel Blanche into the ICU for surgery. Then he picked up his bike and rushed back to the edge of the city.

* * *

 **[Candidate #12, Route 4]**

"What was all that about 'taking care of me,' again?"

Candela wiped her mouth with the back of a closed fist. The mostly white glove came away with bright streaks of red, and she grinned broadly despite her badly split lip. The storm had passed its apex and the heavy rainfall had finally begun to falter, so she was now able to easily make out the darkened expression the Rocket 'Operator' was wearing.

She had cuts and bruises everywhere and her limbs were painfully stiff, but there was enough adrenaline rushing through her veins to make her think she could bench press an emboar.

Beside her, Delta was still itching to sink her teeth into anything that came too close. At their feet lay the two Team Rocket thugs, groaning and heavily bruised. One of them had a broken nose and quite a few missing teeth, and the other guy's face looked like hamburger meat, but they were both still breathing.

At the cave entrance, Candela's nidorino and Blanche's wartortle, poliwhirl, and nidorina were all locked in combat with at least one other pokemon. Without trainers to supervise their battles, the Rocket pokemon were hard pressed just to remain conscious. From what she could tell they were mostly at a stalemate, which was fine for the time being. As long as they could still fight, the tides would turn completely once Candela got the chance to direct them.

At least, she hoped so.

 _I just have to take the leader out and I'll have Buzz back, too.  
_  
"Are those guys actually on salary, or was this like an unpaid internship?" Candela's grin morphed into a scowl as her other hand tightened around the now-muddy pokeball she had ripped from the grasp of one of those thugs. _Delta's fire attacks will be severely weakened by the rain. This will be tough._ "So here's what's going to happen—"

"I'm not humoring this nonsense." The woman gestured at the purple slime pokemon beside her. "Muk? Sludge Wave, please."

"Delta, dodge and then... !" Candela froze, realizing the attack's full scope a moment too late. True to its name, the attack hit her like an actual tidal wave, rushing over everything in its path including the Rocket grunts. While Delta deftly jumped out of the way, Candela was swept backwards off her feet and engulfed by the torrent of noxious ooze.

When the attack subsided, Candela struggled to her hands and knees, hacking and spluttering. While she resisted the urge to wipe at her burning eyes with her now filthy gloves, she couldn't stop herself from retching into the mud. It felt like she'd been bathed in waste, and the taste and smell of rotten garbage and sewage coupled with the burning, stinging sensation on every inch of skin the sludge had touched overloaded her senses.

Being directly targeted had caught her off guard, and she hadn't thought to close her mouth and eyes until it was too late. She ripped off one of her gloves with her teeth and tried to wipe the rank, sticky gunk out of her eyes, but only succeeded in smearing it around even more. Even the shallow puncture wounds on her back where she'd been bitten by a Golbat's long fangs burned like hell, but worst of all, the smell was bad enough to make her feel faint.

"Opera 3, checking in. The recruits didn't pass. We're green, still on schedule." Candela breathed in through her mouth. She could hear the sound of Delta shooting off a Flame Burst nearby and felt a rush of heat on her face, but the Rocket's flat tone sounded unconcerned. She lifted her head to the sky, hoping the rainwater would rinse out her eyes somewhat, but the downpour had calmed considerably. "The Valor brat? ...Yes, understood. I'll be arriving shortly."

"You aren't going anywhere." Candela spat, and spat again, and forced her eyes open despite the intense stinging pain. Though she couldn't quite manage to pull herself up out of the sludge, Delta was poised to strike at her command. Once again, she tightened her grip around Peaches' pokeball. "Not until you hand over my beedrill."

"Actually, you aren't going anywhere." The Operator was completely at ease, and adjusted the brim of her hat as she approached one of the motionless grunts, prodding him with a muddy white boot. He didn't move. "I don't care about your pokemon, so don't take it so personally. These bug types are a dime a dozen, that's what makes them so useful in bulk."

"What are you talking about?" Candela asked, a sudden burst of fear breaking through her haze of fury and pain. She tried to stand up again but found she could only move so much before the sludge forcefully sucked her back down. Her eyes widened as she realized that the muck she was covered in was the body of the Sludge Pokemon itself.

"You do seem to have some potential. With some training and a little less naïveté, you could be useful for us later." The Rocket tapped a pokeball that was hooked to her belt to draw Candela's attention, then pulled a pen and notepad from her coat pocket. "So here's some incentive for growth. Do you want your pokemon back? Silly question, I imagine."

Candela could tell at a glance that it was Buzz's pokeball. Delta lashed her tail furiously, and looked back at Candela for instructions, but she couldn't manage to speak through her rage. She pulled violently against the sludge, desperate to free herself, and nearly yanked her left arm out of its socket in the process.

"Muk, Harden please. Hold her still." The goop solidified dramatically, and Candela felt like she was encased in wet concrete up to her neck. Delta chirped at her in concern, still waiting to be told what to do. "What's your name? Lying won't do you any favors, just so you're aware."

"Like I'd tell you—"

"I don't have all night. Muk, Acid Armor."

Candela grit her teeth to keep herself from screaming as the pokemon's body liquified into a bubbling soup. It really did feel just like acid, and it slowly ate through the parts of her clothes where the fabric was the thinnest.

She lasted nearly a minute before cracking.

"It's Candela, you asshole."

"Thank you. Muk, Harden again." The woman glanced from Candela to her Charmeleon and back again, then scribbled as she spoke. "Resilient, but cocky. Decent trainer, bad judgment. How old are you? What region are you from? Johto? Alola?"

"I'm seventeen. From Unova." Candela's voice was strained. Her skin still stung all over, and the sludge had hardened so much that she could only take shallow breaths. The very last raindrops fell, and the sounds of battle from further off became more distinct. "Why is Team Rocket here? What do you want?"

"I'd just like to talk for now, little Valor." After returning the notebook to her coat, the woman made a show of unhooking Buzz's pokeball from her belt, tossing it up a short distance with a flourish, then catching it again. "Level 30 male, Adamant nature, good Effort Values. When I scanned it earlier I was fairly impressed that we found such an ideal specimen for our project. Did it have a nickname?"

"Let me out. I talk a lot better with my hands," Candela snapped, frantically trying to dislodge herself from the pokemon. The burning sensation was beginning to lessen, but she felt more nauseated with every passing second. "What does his name matter to you, anyway?"

"Well, I'm not very creative myself. I am a bit sentimental, however." The Rocket slowly drew something on Buzz's pokeball, then returned it to her belt with a small shrug. "I'm going to request to keep this pokemon for personal use when our scientists are finished with it. But I'll tell you what: once my request is approved, let's have a battle. If you win, you can have it back."

"LET HIM GO YOU BITCH!" Candela shouted, violently thrashing her body as much as she could manage. The Rocket commanded Muk to harden once again. "Fight me right now, fair and square!"

"It's pretty high level, but this Muk isn't even mine. You'll have to wait until I'm authorized for a full team if you want that battle." The Rocket operator shrugged, but took up a defensive stance, as if she were expecting a sudden attack. "If you don't like that idea then you'd better do something about it right now."

The rain finally stopped completely, and the sounds of Blanche's pokemon and her own nidorino battling the Rocket's pokemon unsupervised came back to her more clearly. She couldn't tell if they were still holding their own, or if any had fainted.

Candela could barely wiggle her fingers, and had to gasp for every breath as she realized her only options.

"Delta, Metal Claw! Get this thing off me."

 _We'll have to risk it hitting my body too. Otherwise..._

"Flame Burst, then. Fire Fang! I'll be fine, come on, hurry up!" The charmeleon chirped in indignation, not willing to risk damaging her trainer. The Rocket scoffed as Candela tried to argue with it to no avail. Angry, stinging tears welled up in Candela's eyes. "Why won't you listen to me!?"

"That was cowardly, especially for a Valor." The Rocket's gaze snapped up to something behind Candela, and she immediately turned on her heels and began to walk away. "I'm sure the correct choice was obvious, you just lack the nerve to do what needs doing. You'll never get what you want if you can't give something up."

"Is that you, Candela?" Spark's voice was approaching from behind her, but still sounded a ways off. "Who's that with you?"

"Muk, use Poison Gas, then come along. I have what we came for." Candela cursed, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew enough about poison types to know that inhaling too much of the stuff at once would likely kill her. The shell keeping her trapped crumbled, and she tried her best to scramble backwards out of the cloud.

"Meet me at Silph Co. in one month! If you grow a spine by then, we'll have that battle."

"Beaks, give us a Whirlwind!" Candela felt a rush of cool air and risked opening her eyes. She just barely caught a glimpse of the woman's back disappearing into the same narrow side tunnel she and Blanche used to exit the dig site. Candela stood up abruptly and staggered forward, and Spark grabbed her by the arm to steady her. "Are you alright? Okay, dumb question, you look like crap."

"C'mon, let's go. We can still catch her if we hurry." Candela's legs trembled and buckled beneath her as soon as she successfully untangled herself from the blonde. She was stiff and sore and felt like vomiting again. Everything stung, and she could only fight through the pain so much before her body gave out. "Whatever, just go without me. Don't let her get away!"

"We can't chase her," Spark said, his voice soft. He put a hand on her shoulder, then leaned down to help her stand up again. A giant, angry bird pokemon stood behind him. "It's ass A.M., you're badly poisoned, and aren't those Blanche's pokemon beating up those others? We should make sure they're okay, and tie up those two guys over there just in case. The police will be here soon."

"... Yeah. I guess you're right." A soft nudge at her leg made Candela's throat tighten, and she recalled Delta without looking at her.

"I dunno what happened here, so maybe it's not my place to say anything," Spark began as they walked towards Blanche's wartortle. He was currently chomping down on the tail of a whimpering ratticate. "But, you did your best here. What you did took a lot of guts."

Candela bit her lip, and said nothing.

* * *

 **[Candidate #17, Cerulean City General Hospital — GO Challenge Day 23]**

"I'm sorry, sir. That's all I can remember."

"Contact us immediately if you think of anything else." The moment Blanche had regained consciousness after her surgery there had been an International Police agent insistent on privately questioning her about the Mount Moon incident. "An officer will stop by later to take your statement for the Cerulean police."

"Of course," Blanche said. The eevee curled up in her lap snored softly as she stroked her fur. "I wish I could have been more helpful."

The agent stood and made his way to the door, nodding curtly in her direction. He was of middling age, with dark hair and a fancy beige hat that seemed to cover his eyes whenever he'd glance down at his notes. Blanche settled back, trying to make herself comfortable, and reached for the tv remote attached to her bed's arm rests. She could feel the sharp edges of pain from her stab wounds beginning to creep back into her body along with the dull ache of a completely empty stomach, and eyed the "Call Nurse" button warily.

"Ah, one more thing." Blanche didn't look up, expecting a casual remark about her health. "Would your pokemon ever listen to another trainer?"

"Only that Valor candidate I told you about. As I mentioned earlier, she directed my team briefly while I was engaged with the young man who stabbed me." Blanche frowned, looking up at the man as he lingered in the doorway. She didn't like the expression on his face. "Candela helped me train them for the Pewter gym, and they respect her quite a bit."

"Are you close?"

"...Not particularly." Blanche noted the way his eyes narrowed at her response, and crossed her arms. "We've only met two weeks ago. Why do you ask?"

"That's all for now."

Blanche checked the clock above the door and pinched the bridge of her nose. 11:40 A.M. _I've barely been awake for two hours and I'm this exhausted and irritable. He's just doing his job._ According to the nurse who'd been attending her that morning, a little over four days had passed since her injury and subsequent emergency surgery. While the medically-induced coma had sapped her strength, it also spared her the worst of the pain as her body healed.

Though Spark had been there with her eevee when she'd woken up, she hadn't yet been brought up to speed on anything that transpired after she'd passed out thanks to the pushy Interpol agent. He had been waiting for her to regain consciousness for some time, and insisted that she file a report with him as soon as she was awake. In the end she couldn't recall anything that she imagined would be useful to the investigation.

She did remember Candela's worried face shouting for her to stay awake. She also remembered watching Candela fight for her life, get punched in the face, her jacket being slashed open—it was a swirl of violent images that she had a hard time piecing together chronologically.

"Thank you for letting me speak with your patients." The agent was still standing in the doorway, chatting with her nurse. She looked away, not wanting to eavesdrop. "I'll show myself out."

Blanche sighed quietly. The hospital room was sparse, with four white walls and little decor. There was one small table and chair across from her bed for visitors, a small tv mounted on the far wall, and a single painting of a nondescript landscape scene by the door. The chair that the agent had been sitting in, pulled right up by her bedside—by Spark, she presumed—looked terribly uncomfortable.

At the very least, she had a window with a pleasant view of the beautiful waterway nearby, and she absentmindedly watched a little fishing boat chug along it. She heard the door close gently with a click, and brushed her thumb across the Call button, wondering if she should see about getting something for the rapidly intensifying pain in her chest and back at the very least.

 _Perhaps I should ask for some water._

It was sunny, with a deep blue sky and no clouds to speak of. Nothing at all like the dreary, stormy weather they'd had in Pewter on the afternoon they'd decided to take on the cave. Cerulean was a beautiful city, and Blanche found herself smiling despite her discomfort.

 _She's probably been out there training for the next gym. Hopefully I haven't fallen too far behind._

"Hey."

Blanche's head whipped around at the familiar voice. Surely enough, Candela was standing there leaning up against the door in a white tank top and baggy black shorts. One of her hands held a very alert baby eevee while the other was hidden behind her back. Blanche's eyes glanced over her heavily bandaged arms and legs before lingering on the cuts and scrapes smattered across her neck, chest, and forehead. The hint of a smirk crossed her lips, but it seemed strained.

A dark purple bruise covered her entire left eye, and her cheek was slightly swollen.

A hesitant, "Candela?" was all the white-haired girl could manage to say. Silence settled back over the room until Candela's eevee slipped out of her grasp and hopped onto the bed to join her twin with a small bark. Candela broke eye contact by closing her eyes and stretching, but even doing that much was obviously painful judging by the way she grimaced and hunched over slightly afterward.

"I meant to sneak these in here while you were still knocked out," Candela said as she stepped forward, revealing the small floral arrangement in her other hand. Lavender roses, and some violets. "Flowers aren't really my style, so Spark helped me pick these out. Sorry if they're a little tacky. There's a card from him and the archaeologists in there, too."

Candela dragged her feet like it hurt to lift her legs all the way off the ground. She placed the vase on top of the table beside Blanche's bag, but kept her back turned to the other girl.

"How are you holding up? You were still critical last I stopped by. We were all pretty worried."

Blanche's eyes were drawn to the outline of a thick patch of gauze just above Candela's right shoulder blade. The longer she stared, the more injuries she found. Another beat of silence passed between them before the other girl spoke again.

"You're probably starving." Candela rubbed the back of her head and grinned. "I'll grab ya something from the cafeteria downstairs. The food they serve patients is absolute sh—"

"Are those _burns?_ What the hell happened?"

"Awh, not you too," Candela said with a small, humorless laugh. When she turned around again she wasn't smiling. "That Interpol guy interrogated me for a good two hours right before I was discharged two days ago, and don't even get me started on the head nurse. She's worse than my mom."

"I'm not trying to interrogate you. Are you alright?" Blanche tried to keep her tone even, but her throat felt far too tight for her to steady her voice properly. A sinking feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach. "You look like you can barely walk, and you don't usually beat around the bush like this."

"I lost a fight," Candela said with a small shrug. Her tone was clipped, and her fists clenched and unclenched slowly as she continued. "It happens, just, not usually to me. I got poisoned pretty bad and have a few acid burns, but I still wasn't half as hurt as you were."

"Acid? What happened?" Blanche repeated, her voice rising in volume. She took a shaky breath and tried to calm herself when the pain in her chest flared back to life. "There's no way that's healed properly yet."

"Don't worry about me, dumbass," Candela snapped suddenly. She gripped the bed's railing hard enough to leave indents in its malleable plastic cover. "The hell were you thinking? You were like centimeters away from drowning in your own blood from a punctured lung. I thought I was dragging your dead body out of that cave because you couldn't just... just..."

"I couldn't just what? Run away? Sit back and watch you and the others die?" Blanche felt her throat tighten again and turned away sharply when she noticed Candela's eyes were glistening. _No. I'm being irrational again._ She took a deep breath and relaxed her death grip on her bed sheets before continuing. "I'm sorry. Whatever happened to you after I fainted was probably due in no small part to my recklessness. I should have listened to you and gone for help. Thank you for saving my life."

"Don't say stupid shit like that," Candela said, gently shaking her head, and plopped into the chair. She ran a bandaged hand through her short hair, then placed her other hand atop one of Blanche's closed fists after a long sigh. Blanche did not turn back to face her. "It was a big operation, and there were a bunch of Team Rocket jerks waiting right outside. You saved me. So, thanks."

"Ah. Yes, well, it's like I said." Blanche cleared her throat, and released her vice grip on the hospital remote so she could pat the back of Candela's hand twice in quick succession. When she turned to meet Candela's eyes again the tips of her ears burned hot with a sudden rush of blood. "Anyway, are you going to tell me about that fight you lost, or not?"

Candela visibly stiffened, but answered smoothly. It was shocking how fast an expression could lose all its warmth.

"Sorry. I would if I could." The door swung open with a quiet creak, and Candela stood slowly. Two female police officers, one with bright teal hair, the other a brunnette, and their growlithes wordlessly entered the small room. "Are you here to take her statement?"

"Are you G.O Candidate #12?" The officer that spoke conspicuously placed her hand on her belt. The other seemed to watch Candela's every twitch.

"That's right," Candela replied flatly. "Are you arresting me?"

"Yes." The teal-haired officer nodded her head at her partner and the other woman stepped forward with a pair of silver handcuffs. Candela said nothing more and stretched her arms out in surrender, but Blanche's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"You are under arrest for the murder of two men on Route 4 on the night of May 18th."


	6. Chapter 5

**[Candidate #17, Cerulean City General Hospital — GO Challenge Day 25]**

"Are you certain it was Candela's name?"

"Yeah, I saw it on the list when I was logging my win. Kinda stood out 'cause it was the only one on the page." Spark's tone was casual, but his face was far from relaxed. He spooned the last of his scrambled eggs into his mouth with a grimace. "Everyone else who's still in the city has lost or isn't ready for the gym yet."

"In that case, I think it's time we moved on." Blanche bit the inside of her cheek, her decision made. She stood from the stainless steel table and walked away, dropping her empty meal replacement shake into the recycling as she passed the bin.

The white-haired trainer exited the cafeteria slowly, taking great care to keep her footing solid. She'd been bedridden for long enough that her legs had gotten unused to the idea of walking, and that didn't sit well with her at all.

"Uh, Blanche? Thanks for brunch." Spark fell into step beside her, an expression of pure distress on his face. He was carrying her backpack along with a rambunctious pair of baby eevees. "Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but aren't you getting released too soon? Y'know, all recent stab wounds considered?"

Although Spark had kept her company and tried his best to distract her, Blanche had spent the days since Candela's arrest thinking of nothing but the incident at Mount Moon. Something about the entire thing, from the archeologists to the appearance of that Interpol agent, just didn't seem to add up.

The most obvious inconsistency was the accusation that only minutes after giving her all to save Blanche's life, Candela would kill two men in cold blood.

It simply wasn't true. Surely the investigators would see that.

"You're quite welcome," Blanche said finally, speaking as carefully as she walked. Even talking was still a bit more taxing than she'd expected, but everything would get easier once she got used to being active again.

The fresh bandages on her chest and upper back were wrapped uncomfortably tight beneath her midnight blue bodysuit, and although her stitches were already healing her wounds still throbbed constantly. She'd had to choose between effective pain medication and useful consciousness.

Taking enough to get rid of the pain made her extremely dizzy, but she still brought a few bottles of the stuff along with her just in case it became unbearable.

"I was cleared for discharge this morning. As long as I avoid sudden motions and strenuous activity I'll be fine."

"Strenuous like 'walking ten steps,' or strenuous like 'breathing?' It looks like you're having trouble staying upright, and to be fair, you couldn't yesterday." Spark used his free hand to scratch his head. "It took two nurses to help you get your coat on like twenty minutes ago. Are you sure you're going for Mystic, because I don't think you're being very wise right now."

"If you're going to insult my intelligence you may as well be more direct about it."

"You know what I mean! I'm surprised you haven't fainted yet." Spark watched as Blanche grit her teeth and slowly reached out to push open a sturdy set of double doors. She winced as soon as she raised her left arm above her hip. Instead of watching her struggle he quickly stepped in front of her and pressed his back to one of the doors. "Lemme get that. Shouldn't you at least grab some free stuff from the Poke Stop while we're here?"

"Some lingering discomfort won't deter me, and I can purchase any supplies I need from the PokeMart without spending a lifetime in line." Blanche awkwardly maneuvered past the blonde and stepped into a large, extremely crowded room. The hospital's main lobby doubled as the city's Pokemon Center, and it was nearly filled to capacity. "Spark, I really do appreciate your concern but I need to go right now. If Candela is still being detained she'll be completely disqualified unless she battles the gym leader at the time she registered for."

 _I won't allow her to fail because of me_.

"Dude, I wanna help Candela too, but that's not what I'm worried about right now." Spark stopped walking and stared at her. "You're going to try to challenge the gym tonight."

"If you won, I don't see why I couldn't."

"Well, for starters, I picked Bulbasaur. I also have a ridiculously strong Jolteon, and it was still really close."

"Type advantage isn't everything."

"Yeah, but it sure does help. It's been nearly a month since the Challenge started and barely anyone's gotten past that gym. No wonder it's so packed in here." Spark gestured towards a pair of nurses who scurried past them and vanished into the crowd. "They probably only let you out because the hospital staff's been so swamped lately. Almost every defeated trainer got seriously hurt in the attempt."

"I cannot afford to waste more time here. Anyone who has made it beyond this city will have an insurmountable lead if we don't catch up soon." Blanche glanced around at the horde of agitated trainers as she spoke. She saw mostly red and blue jackets among them, and many were indeed wrapped in bandages. "You know, I'm a little offended. You should be the last person I have to beg to have a little confidence in me."

"Just heal up and train some more and I'll stop nagging you. If you're supposed to avoid 'strenuous activity' then believe me, that gym will chew you up and swallow you whole. I got out unscathed, but only just." Spark shrugged, and hesitated for only an instant before continuing. "Besides, there's a chance that Candela really did commit a crime. When I found you guys, you looked pretty dead, and she was _pissed._ "

"That's absurd. I understand that you haven't spent much time with her yourself, but that's borderline slander." Blanche shot him a disgusted look and began walking straight for the registration table. Thankfully there was no line. Violent images flashed through her mind, some vivid memories, some imaginary, and she clutched her one of her coat sleeves. "In any case, regardless of any other fact, she was acting in defense of herself and her pokemon."

"Yeah, well, I'm just saying it's possible that she went overboard. I told her to stay put and she went back for a fight. They humiliated and tortured her." Spark sighed deeply and followed her to the table, his shoulders slumped. "It could have been an accident. Either way, what the police decide to do is totally beyond your control."

"We'll see about that."

The Cerulean city police had failed to contact Blanche again regarding the Mt. Moon investigation. Despite having been a partial witness himself, Spark had been turned away when he attempted to get detailed information from them about why exactly Candela had been detained and what her current status was due to privacy laws. The whole thing seemed like a ridiculous misunderstanding, and Blanche was determined to do whatever she could to clear it up before Candela was scheduled to challenge the gym.

Blanche approached the table, nodded once at the registrar himself, and then signed her name and candidate number right below Candela's—indeed, they were the only challengers on the list.

"You really should wait a few days. Seriously. Even if Candela fights tonight that doesn't mean you have to." Spark's tone became uncharacteristically grave as they approached the main entrance, and she reflexively tensed up at his words. "I don't know how to say this without breaking the 'non disclosure' rule, but it isn't a regular gym right now. You might die trying if you aren't at your absolute best."

"I'll do my very best to survive if that makes you feel better. Listen, Spark..." Blanche stopped walking just beneath the glowing red exit sign. A slight crease had appeared between her eyebrows. "You've been very kind to me these past few days, and I'm grateful for everything you've done. I'm in your debt. With that being said—"

"Don't mention it. Anyone can overdo it, you know?" Spark always closed his eyes when he really grinned. "Besides, this is your first time in Kanto, I gotta make sure you still leave with a decent impression of us!"

"Please let me finish." Blanche paused, trying to choose her words carefully. She wanted to be clear, but not overly harsh. "I think it's time we went separate ways."

"Oh. Did you not want to be friends?" Spark didn't seem upset, only curious. "I'm a big boy, you can be honest."

"That isn't the issue. I know you mean well, but I hate being treated like I'm made of glass. It's infuriating, actually." Blanche took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. She'd been planning to have a similar talk with Candela after they'd left Mt. Moon. "I understand how serious my injuries are, but I need you to trust me when I say I can handle it. I know what I'm doing."

"Blanche, a nurse was spoon feeding you cream of wheat yesterday morning."

"So what? That was yesterday."

"You could barely pick up a fork not even ten minutes ago."

"That's for me to be concerned about."

"Okay, it's great that you wanna do your best and everything. I respect that. But it'll really suck if you end up with permanent muscle damage or worse just because you chose to be stubborn." Spark turned towards the door and stepped forward, making Blanche unable to see his face. "It's easy to push yourself too hard, but not many people are strong enough to admit when they're weak. Candela struggles with that too, but _she_ knows her limits."

"I am _not_ weak."

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm just worried about you."

"I am not a child, and you aren't my parent, either."

"No, but I care about you, and you aren't invincible."

Blanche didn't respond, and felt something in her chest tighten painfully. He was right that she wasn't infallible, but that didn't matter. She wouldn't back down, because some things needed to be done, regardless of how hard the doing was.

 _This shouldn't be difficult. I don't need someone I barely know telling me what's best for me._

"I'm going to help Candela rejoin the competition, and I am getting that badge tonight. I can guarantee that whatever obstacles await me at the gym are nothing compared to what Candela and I went through at Mt. Moon." Blanche spoke slowly, and found herself meeting Spark's stare when she looked up. She held his gaze. "Thank you for everything. I'm sure you have things you need to do as well."

"... Yeah. I should head back to the daycare. There's one more egg I have to hatch for a client." Spark nodded, his vibrant smile matching the partly-sunny weather outside. Apparently it was never sunny for long in Cerulean these days. "Here, take Pockets and Candela's lil' brat before I run off with them. Just head south after you leave the hospital, you can't miss the station."

"Pockets?" Blanche raised both eyebrows as the blonde handed her the smaller of the twins along with her backpack. Meanwhile, Candela's eevee hopped out of Spark's arms and immediately wrapped his fluffy tail around Blanche's leg.

"Seemed like you were having trouble coming up with a name for her, and if it fits, it sticks. Well, good luck tonight. Gimme a call if you need anything." Without another word, Spark pushed the door open and walked out.

"Good luck to you as well," Blanche said, speaking to his back as it disappeared. A gust of warm air hit Blanche's face as the door closed behind him, and she blinked slowly as the cold air conditioning settled around her once again. "'If it fits, it sticks,' huh..."

She'd expected to feel satisfied once she was alone again. Instead, she felt hollow.

Blanche let 'Pockets' snuggle comfortably in the crook of her right arm, then slung the backpack over her bad shoulder just to prove to herself that the mild discomfort really was bearable. Candela's eevee was on his best behavior for Blanche, and stayed close to her lest he get trampled by the crowd as they milled about.

She did her best to ignore how the added weight seemed to tug at her injuries, but pain was pain, and the white haired girl grimaced as she adjusted the strap. Pockets looked up at her and whined softly, as if she'd been hurt too.

"Oh, not you too. I'm fine, Eevee, just a bit sore."

While the other eevee had grown considerably larger in the past few weeks, this one was still the size of a freshly hatched newborn—almost small enough to fit comfortably inside of her jacket pocket, she thought with a small smile.

With her free hand, Blanche pulled out her Pokedex and read eevee's data entry for what was possibly the twentieth time. She'd only intended to check the species' average height and weight, but her eyes lingered on its summary.

"'Eevee: an extremely rare Pokémon that may evolve in a number of different ways depending on stimuli.' You're a special little one, aren't you?" She patted the tiny pokemon's head and lost herself in a sudden swirl of thoughts. "We're very fortunate to have you two."

Once the three teams were established and members had been officially chosen, Team Mystic would be the research based science division of the Pokemon Global Organization. Successful applicants like Blanche had to proceed through the challenge as usual—winning battles, collecting all eight badges, hatching eggs, logging as much data into the regional pokedex as possible, and much more—while also collecting useful data related to their team's primary area of study: pokemon evolution.

A rare pokemon like Eevee that had uniquely variable evolutionary potential was invaluable as a research tool, in theory. Its potential versatility could make it an outstanding fighter for the battle-oriented Team Valor as well.

Blanche stared at the creature in her arms. 'Pockets' seemed like anything but an ideal lab specimen. Looking further down at the soft ball of fluff wrapped around her leg didn't seem to reveal a magnificent warrior, either.

They were still perfect, though. Blanche sighed, thinking back to the day she'd met both Candela and Spark. Not even three minutes had passed before he'd introduced himself to a pair of complete strangers and given them both an Eevee egg. He was a good person to have as an… ally, to be sure.

 _Perhaps I didn't thank him enough._

A trainer in a brick red blazer bumped hard into Blanche's shoulder as she entered the building, abruptly breaking her train of thought. Blanche winced but didn't stumble, and returned the girl's stony glare. Candela's eevee crouched defensively between them and prepared to pounce.

"Watch where you're standing, Mystic."

Blanche looked her up and down. She had straw blonde hair and brown eyes, seemed a little older, and was clearly waiting for a reponse. Based on her haggard appearance, she'd recently been on the wrong end of an intense battle.

"If you're looking for someone to bully so you can feel better about losing to the gym, I suggest you look elsewhere." Both baby eevees voiced their agreement, and she smiled despite her annoyance. "There are plenty of Valor pushovers inside, so please bother one of them."

"Tch. Whatever." The trainer stormed off, but not before casting an angry backwards glance. "See you around, bitch."

"Doubtful."

Thoroughly convinced that she was finished stalling for no good reason, Blanche raised her right hand and shoved the door open. It took considerable effort to get it just wide enough for her slender body to fit through, but she managed on the first try without tearing any stitches. Candela's eevee came along without prompting.

Actually making it to the station was another struggle entirely. Her legs felt like lead at first, and Pockets' weight quickly went from mildly cumbersome to extremely uncomfortable. She was determined to carry her without help from her other pokemon, but after passing a group of suspicious figures loitering around a bicycle shop, she called out her poliwhirl to walk alongside them just to be safe.

 _A bicycle might be just what I need. I'll take a look after I defeat the gym._

A new cloud formation overhead kept her from feeling the worst of the raw heat, but the humidity alone was awful enough on its own. Blanche breathed a sigh of pure relief when she saw that the door to the small police station was propped open.

As she stepped inside, taking note of the various strategically-placed fans located all around the foyer, she was approached by an officer Jenny with a worn-out clipboard.

"If you're making a report, take a number and have a seat." The older woman waved to two rows of folding metal chairs on the wall adjacent to the front desk, all of which were occupied. "If you have an emergency, please see the front desk."

"Actually, I wanted to inquire about an individual who was detained two days ago." Blanche recalled both eevees as well as Poliwhirl, anticipating a long wait and a mountain of paperwork.

"Plenty of those recently. You'll have to be more specific."

"A female Valor candidate. Age 17, from Unova. She was heavily injured during an incident involving Team Rocket, and was subsequently arrested for double homicide."

"Is your name 'Blanche?'"

"Yes."

"Come with me. We weren't expecting you for a while yet." The officer hummed quietly, and tapped her pen against the clipboard. Blanche tensed as they made their way to the front desk, unsure of what to expect herself. "Normally I'd take you to one of our soundproof rooms to have you fill out a load of paperwork, but we just don't have the time right now. Please fill this out and sign at the bottom. Your friend was released this morning on a conditional basis, and you've been cleared for now."

"Oh, thank goodness," Blanche said, suddenly feeling a hundred pounds lighter as she hastily scribbled down her basic identification and contact information. _Name,_ _Blanche, gender, F, age 17, region..._ Then her brain processed the rest of the officer's statement and she looked up, startled. "Hold on. What was I suspected of? That incident put me in the hospital for days, and I don't even know what happened."

"Do you see that line?" The officer tilted her pen in the direction of the chairs along the wall. "I can give you the short version now, or you can take a number and get the long version from someone who knows the case better."

"The short version, please," Blanche said, answering as soon as the woman stopped speaking. She could get the specifics from Candela herself. "Where can I find her?"

* * *

 **[Route 24, Nugget Bridge]**

The rain had returned, sudden and relentless. Somewhere behind the clouds the sun dipped below the horizon, and a starless darkness settled over the city like a cold, wet blanket. Blanche saw a plume of bright flames and crossed the bridge as quickly as she could.

Blanche slowed down to a light jog as she approached, and the scene became much clearer. A young trainer scrambled backwards, flat on his behind and blubbering in fear. His clothes were singed. Candela was busy reattaching what could only have been Delta's pokeball to her belt, but her unusually stiff body language implied thinly-veiled rage.

"C-Congratulations, you've conquered Nugget Bridge!" He tossed a small golden rock along with a thick stack of paper bills at Candela's feet. Blanche could only see the other girl's back, but she could tell that Candela hadn't even glanced at the money as it splashed into a shallow puddle. The trainer's eyes widened as she advanced, and he began stammering out a string of what seemed like poorly-scripted lines. "Um, wow, you're really strong! Say, how would you like to join Team Rocket?"

 _So he's a Rocket Grunt in plain clothes. I shouldn't interfere._

Blanche chose to stand a respectable distance away so that she could listen and observe without getting involved. As she stopped moving a fresh wave of dizziness overtook her, and she grabbed the railing to steady herself. The pain medication she'd guzzled on the way had finally kicked in, allowing her to move without absolute agony, but it was badly affecting her sense of balance as well.

She was sure Candela noticed her approach, but the other girl didn't acknowledge her.

"Team Rocket? What's that?" Candela strode forward and crouched directly in front of him. He looked to be their age, perhaps a few years younger. Blanche couldn't see her expression, but her tone was anything but friendly. "I'm from out of town, you see."

"They, uh, I mean, we..." The boy trailed off, pushing wet black hair out of his eyes. He obviously wanted to run away but was pinned in place by Candela's glare. "We're a powerful organization that uses Pokemon and technology to help meet our financial and political goals. Sounds great, doesn't it?"

"Sounds like bullshit. What do I get for joining?"

"You'll receive two well-trained pokemon and a Rare Candy! The entry fee is only—"

"Alright, just stop. I've heard enough." She grabbed him by the collar and hauled him off the ground, dragging him to the edge of the wooden bridge without any further pretense. Blanche flinched, but stood her ground, trusting that Candela wouldn't take it too far. From her angle, the rain made the grunt look like he was crying uncontrollably. "I'm looking for an agent that goes by 'operator,' with red hair and a nasty attitude. She was working outside of Mt. Moon a few nights ago."

"That's gotta be Amelie. She's the field operator for Route 4." Candela didn't respond, but she lifted the teen a little higher and dangled him over the side. The water probably wasn't very deep, but even a strong swimmer like Blanche would struggle in the midst of a raging storm. He was definitely crying now. "She transferred cities! I don't know where..."

"Are you sure that's everything?"

"It might have been Saffron! I swear I don't know anything else, I only joined last week!"

"Sort your life the fuck out, kid. If I catch you punks hanging around here again you'll regret it." Candela seemed to stiffen right before she let him fall back onto the bridge. He collapsed into a heap when he hit the ground but quickly recovered, scrambling to his feet and running right past them—heading for the Pokemon Center, undoubtedly.

Candela turned to watch him leave and met Blanche's eyes, then turned away again.

Blanche stared hard at Candela's back, just waiting. Waiting for her to move again, to acknowledge her presence, anything. The driving rain and the occasional crackle of distant lightning somehow made the silence between them unbearable.

"Can we talk?"

Blanche was shocked at how small her voice sounded to her own ears, and wondered if she hadn't spoken loud enough to be heard over the rain. The gash in her chest throbbed when the other girl finally turned towards her.

"I'm happy to see you out and about, but shouldn't you still be in intensive care?" Candela's face seemed healed for the most part, but the places where she'd been burned by corrosive acid were covered up by the black nylon turtleneck she was wearing. Much like her own, those injuries probably hadn't finished healing. "You look like you just snuck out of your hospital bed."

"I had an urgent matter to attend to." Blanche closed her eyes when they began to water. Somehow, she kept her voice steady. "You're challenging the gym tonight."

"On my way there right now, darling." Candela's tone indicated a smile. When Blanche looked up again she had placed a hand on her hip and was leaning back against the railing. Her grin was lopsided, as usual. "Don't tell me _I'_ _m_ your 'urgent matter?'"

"I wanted to tell you that I'm going as well. I won't fall behind."

"Good, because I wouldn't wait up. Anything else?"

Blanche paused before responding as she tried to decide whether or not to fully speak her mind. Instead of letting herself hesitate further, she took one deep, shaky breath, and closed the distance between them. It felt like crossing an ocean, and she stopped an arm's length away from the other trainer.

"I spoke to the police about that night at the cave. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to choose between saving my life and allowing a group of monsters like Team Rocket to steal your Pokemon, and—"

"And _I_ can't believe I actually have to clarify this, but letting you bleed to death in my arms wasn't an option, period. I didn't have a choice, because I can still save Buzz from Team Rocket. I can't rescue you once you're dead." Candela waved her off, then crossed her arms over her chest. Although her expression hadn't changed, with her eyes averted, her smirk suddenly seemed painfully strained. "Anyway, don't worry about that stuff. I'm hunting down the bitch who took my Beedrill. We have a date in Saffron City in a month."

"You always have a choice." _If she'd hesitated or tried to fight, I would be dead. I can be that brave, too._

With her left hand, Blanche pulled two Pokeballs off of her belt. She extended her arm and held them out. Even with the pain medication in full effect it took considerable effort just to hold them at shoulder level without trembling. She blinked rapidly to keep the rainwater out of her eyes.

It was difficult for her to verbally express complicated feelings sometimes, but right now, Candela deserved nothing less than all of the honesty and determination she could muster.

"Take them."

"Are you trying to repay me or something, because I'm really not into that."

"Do you trust me?"

"Are you being serious? Please don't ask dumb questions when I'm already in a bad mood." Candela scoffed, and practically snatched the pokeballs from her. Recognition flashed in her eyes as she looked them over, and she attached both of them to her own belt. She always preferred having her hands free. "What's going on?"

"I heard that you released your mankey today." Blanche watched the other girl carefully as she continued. "You two were so close. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Peaches deserved a lot better than me," Candela said, speaking softly. She sighed deeply, and shook her head. "I couldn't force her to be stuck with a trainer that wasn't strong enough to protect her. Hell, even Delta doesn't trust me anymore. Not like she used to, at least."

"I understand. I'm sure she'll be the strongest wild mankey her habitat has ever seen." When Candela chuckled in response, Blanche offered a strained smile of her own that she hoped came across as reassuring. "In any case, you need at least four pokemon to challenge a gym. I'm just returning your eevee since he's level 1 now."

"What about your Poliwhirl?" Candela raised an eyebrow. "I was planning to catch something in the patch of grass that's up ahead to qualify. I've still got two hours to get to the battle site, and I can probably sweep the gym with just Delta and Spike."

"You won't even be able to get there without a Water type of your own, and she admires you."

"Okay, look. I don't want to argue with you, but what's this really about? You know me well enough to realize that no matter what you say, I don't want your help."

"I know, but... It's my fault that… I'm so sorry." The words tumbled out of her alongside a sudden flood of tears, and Blanche covered her mouth.

"You have nothing to apologize for." Candela took a small step forward and placed a hand on her uninjured shoulder. "If it weren't for you I might not have walked out of there to begin with."

"That isn't true. If I hadn't acted recklessly you wouldn't have had to carry me out of Mount Moon!" Blanche could feel her face turning red, and took another deep, shuddering breath to gather her courage. After hearing what she had from the police, some things just couldn't be left unsaid. "I don't know if the two of us could have beaten that entire group, but at the very least you could have defended yourself, and I could have helped."

"The only people who are to blame for any of that are the scum who tried to kill us and Team Rocket."

"I know that, but even so..." Blanche looked down, unable to meet the other girl's heavy gaze, and bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood. She'd planned on saying so many things, but now that she was finally standing in front of her she was losing her nerve.

When she raised her head, Candela's amber eyes were like beacons in the storm, and Blanche looked away again to keep herself from wavering.

"Even so, I promise that I will not rest until we rescue Beedrill. I swear on the very life that you saved to do whatever it takes."

"Blanche... It's okay." Candela stepped forward again and cupped her face with a firm, surprisingly warm hand. She wasn't wearing her usual white gloves, and her bare thumb reached up to brush against the fresh wound on her lip. It stung just enough to make Blanche meet her eyes again. "You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad you're alright."

"It isn't okay! I know how much your pokemon mean to you and I know what you're thinking." Blanche knocked her hand away and stood a little straighter. She couldn't keep herself from shouting despite their immediate proximity, and her voice finally broke. "I won't be a hinderance or a burden! After we crush this city's gym I will help you hunt down the thugs that robbed you. And, and furthermore—"

Candela silenced her by pulling her into a loose hug. She wrapped her arms around her lower back, careful not to agitate any of her wounds. Blanche stiffened, but slowly found herself leaning in. Her chin came to rest on the shelf of the taller girl's collarbone, and she swayed slightly as Candela murmured into the mess of her soaking wet hair.

"Thank you."

You have nothing to thank me for, Blanche tried to say, but found herself incapable of speaking. She felt like her outburst had been needlessly draining and overly emotional, but got the impression that Candela didn't particularly care.

 _Expressions of intimacy like this are typically indicative of acceptance and understanding._ The thought absently crossed her mind, and before she could think better of it, she reached up to hold onto Candela's arms.

In that moment all she could hear over the thunder was the sound of her own pounding heart. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to cry into Candela's turtleneck, hoping that the other girl wouldn't notice because of the rain.

"I know your outfit is waterproof, but mine isn't, and neither is your head, so let's get out of this storm before we both get sick." Candela let her arms fall away from Blanche's waist and took a small step back. Blanche mirrored her actions, until Candela held out her right hand. "If you want to help me take on Team Rocket then you'd better keep getting stronger. I won't let anything hold me back, especially not a weak partner."

"I am _not_ weak."

"I know. Partners, then?"

Composing herself, Blanche nodded and held out her own hand in the other girl's general direction. She couldn't even see her clearly between the stinging tears in her eyes and the rain. Candela laughed, and took Blanche's hand in her own, bridging the gap herself. They shook hands and crossed the rest rest of the bridge side by side in a comfortable silence.

They turned left right after getting off of the bridge. As Candela fearlessly stepped into the small patch of tall grass and immediately encountered a wild pidgey, Blanche stopped walking.

"Go on ahead. My Eevee isn't level 1 yet, so I need to catch a pokemon before I reach the battle site."

"I can always give you Poliwhirl back." Candela ran a hand through her soaking wet hair, slicking it back to keep her bangs out of her face. "Hell, I could probably catch a random pokemon here faster than you anyway."

"That may be true, but unless you're an excellent swimmer you'll need Poliwhirl to help you cross that river in this weather. Just point her in the right direction and don't let go of her hands. Her skin is slippery." Blanche pulled out a pokeball and stepped into the grass. "Go. This won't take long."

"I'll see you inside, then." Candela stood beside the river's steep embankment. Maybe it was deep after all. "Oh, and by the way, Blanche?"

"Yes?"

"Hurry up and heal so I can hug you properly."

"... Indeed."

Blanche felt blood rushing to her face again, and didn't watch as Candela summoned Poliwhirl and dove headfirst into the rapids, focusing on the task at hand instead. Any wild pokemon would do, she just hoped that the bad weather hadn't driven most of them into hiding for the night.

She only had to take a single step further into the grass before a sleepy, half-alert pokemon came into view. Blanche blinked in surprise, recognizing the species immediately.

There were a modest number of pokemon native to Kanto that were also commonly found in Blanche's home region, and the timid, unassuming Abra happened to be one of them.

Before it could fully register her presence, Blanche threw her only Ultra Ball and crossed her fingers.

After hitting the wet grass, the Ultra Ball shook only once.


	7. Chapter 6

**[Candidate #17, Cerulean Cave — GO Challenge Day 25]**

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed overhead as the summer storm continued to rage.

Blanche pushed a lock of wet hair out of her face, glancing up from the document in her hand to meet the silent stare of the official standing in front of her. She couldn't help the frown that crept onto her face as she held his gaze. There was something about the way some GO employees conducted business that didn't sit well with her.

She dragged her olive green eyes back to the paper, squinting as they rolled across the bulleted list of rules attached to this particular gym, before finally settling on the section at the bottom of the page.

 _The Pokemon Global Organization reserves the right to photograph and film all candidates and is n_ _ot_ _lia_ _ble for any property loss, theft, personal injury, and/or death that may occur during the Pokemon G.O Challenge._ _I, the undersigned, hereby consent to the above specified terms and conditions..._

"Hurry up. That document isn't laminated."

"Listen buddy, these things can't be rushed." Candela seemed to be casually examining her nails, but her expression was far from amused. "Whose bright idea was it to have trainers sign these out in the field? Just include the waiver and rules along with the registration form next time."

"I'm not your buddy."

"Right, tell us how you really feel."

Blanche skimmed over the page again, searching for subtext and fine print—although she had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, nothing immediately stuck out to her as cause for concern. It wasn't much different than the form she'd been given by before journeying to Kanto.

"Go as soon as both of you sign." The man didn't bother trying to hide the impatience in his gruff voice, nor the irritation on his face. Blanche signed the form and passed it to Candela, who signed without reading at all. The guide immediately sheltered the clipboard from the rain with his coat. "Leave your shoes unless they were made for these conditions. You have one hour."

"What, not gonna wish us luck?" Candela grinned when the man crossed his arms. "I miss that guy from Pewter city already. Great sense of humor."

"That older gentleman was a local," Blanche said, looking the man up and down. The dark sunglasses and wide-brimmed white hat he wore perfectly complemented his tailored suit, slender white tie, and stony face. "Not an Organization representative like this one."

Candela snorted as the man turned to leave, then knelt in the mud to make her final preparations.

Blanche patted Wartortle's head when he placed her backpack at her feet. She pulled out her Escape Rope after a few seconds of rummaging around, but hesitated as her fingers brushed against the last bottle of pain medicine she'd brought along.

She was a long way off from a full recovery, even if she _had_ been following her doctor's advice. Her shoulder and chest hurt badly enough to make her grimace whenever she moved, but a serious bout of dizziness and nausea at the wrong moment during their descent could put both her and Candela's lives at risk.

Blanche bit the inside of her cheek and recalled Wartortle, then closed the bag and slung it over her shoulders without removing anything else.

After securing her rope around the large boulder and fastening it tightly around her waist, Blanche tossed the rest of its length down the shaft. It looked like a bottomless abyss, and rainwater rushed over the lip of the hole like a small waterfall.

"All the way to the basement, huh? Looks a lot more daunting up close," Candela said, peering down into the depths. "Unrelated, but did you see that Valor with the two broken legs back at the hospital? I'm no longer wondering how that happened."

"Climbing in this storm pushes the limits of 'reasonable danger' quite a bit." Blanche bit her lip. It was a partner climb—you went down as a pair, and could choose either a pokemon or another trainer as your teammate; the catch was simply that whoever your teammate was had to challenge the gym alongside you as well. "I doubt most candidates would risk teaming up under these circumstances."

In this case, Candela was fortunate that Blanche was there, and vice versa. Though Delta could probably help her get down easily enough, being forced to use her in a Water type gym was definitely not ideal. On the other hand, if your partner was defeated, so were you.

"Yeah, most people don't like being at the mercy of random jerks." Candela gave her own rope a firm tug and positioned herself with her back to the pit. When Blanche nodded and stood beside her, Candela crouched and lowered herself backwards over the edge. With her legs dangling freely, she held her body up with her arms and looked over her shoulder. "It's slippery as hell. Shall we?"

"Let's go," Blanche said, situating herself beside Candela. The miniature waterfall would make it difficult to keep a solid grip on the ledge itself, so she followed the other girl's lead and kept her upper body in the mud until she found secure places to put her feet.

Once she felt ready, she nodded at Candela, who put a small flashlight in her mouth and lowered herself further. Blanche took an exploratory step downward.

 _This shaft should lead us to the cave's basement level, which contains a large underground lake. That's most likely where our battle will take place. But, why this location? And why encourage teamwork among competitors?_

"I've heard that the wild pokemon down there are stronger than anywhere else in the region." Candela scoffed, having paused to readjust the rope around her hips. "I'm kinda bummed that we aren't gonna see any of them."

"There have been eyewitness reports of at least two different legendary species residing here in recent years." The claims she'd heard about had been unsubstantiated at best—a rumor was spreading amongst Mystic candidates that the legendary bird pokemon that represented their team occasionally migrated to Cerulean Cave in the absence of its previous inhabitant—but Blanche could feel warmth crawling up her neck and into her cheeks as Candela's neutral expression melted into a wide grin. "If that's true, I don't imagine Max Repels will keep them away forever."

"Legendaries, huh? A girl can dream."

Candela's descent became a bit faster than Blanche believed was safe. She followed at an even pace, pretending to ignore the incessant throbbing in her injured shoulder.

As they fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds became the steady rush of water and the pattering of a few dislodged rocks that tumbled down endlessly before disappearing into the darkness below.

"So, have any ideas for taking down this gym? I promise I'm not trying to make small talk because I'm bored." Candela spoke without looking up, her flashlight in hand once again. She was using it to search for a new foothold. "It's actually because I'm nervous. Neither of us have anything that'll be particularly effective here."

"Just a few theories, aside from the obvious. Our opponents must be exceptionally strong." The shaft had grown noticably colder as they advanced deeper, and she could see the vapor of her own breath as she spoke. "Despite the fact that a third of all challengers chose the grass starter—and therefore have at least one pokemon with a distinct advantage here—far less than that number have been able to win."

"In which case, we can't necessarily beat them by having a type advantage anyway, thanks to some other factors." Candela nodded, the tip of her foot prodding for a new place to grip. "Go on."

"First and foremost, I strongly suspect that there will be no ground for challenging pokemon to use. It's a simple but extremely effective obstacle."

"Then unless it's a Flying or Water type it's gonna be about as capable as a magikarp on land. That doesn't sound fun."

"Brute force alone won't get us anywhere. With that said, you should know that Poliwhirl learned the move Toxic via TM and forgot Hypnosis."

"That's way more reliable. Good choice."

As Blanche took another step down, her left foot failed to find a new place to grip. Blanche clung tightly to the hard cave wall, nervous that she wouldn't be able to climb down any further. Sharp bits of stone dug into the ridges of her fingers as they strained to hold her up.

"Having some trouble up there? We can take a minute to rest if you need to."

"No, we don't have the time to spare. I am a bit stuck, however." Blanche frowned deeply, and a cool bead of sweat drew a thin line down the nape of her neck. The white hot pain in her chest had actually become a welcome distraction from the places she'd been stabbed in the back—while those wounds had been relatively shallow, they overlapped internally in the most agonizing way. "The section below me is completely smooth. It feels like a sheet of metal."

"Looks like one, too. Slide to my level and grab my hand." Candela was only half a dozen feet below her, but it was difficult to see clearly through the constant stream of rain even with a beam of light shining right beneath Blanche's feet. "I won't let you fall."

Blanche started to respond when a loud crash reverberated around them, and both of their heads snapped upwards. The walls themselves vibrated, as if a massive impact had occurred outside.

"What was that?" She looked up, but couldn't even make out the outline of the hole's entrance. The cloudy night sky was a slightly paler shade of midnight blue compared to everything else in the cave. "Can you see anything up there?"

"Not at all, but don't worry too much. It was probably more thunder."

"Right. Whenever you're ready, then."

She waited for Candela to put the flashlight back in her mouth and took a painfully deep breath to steel herself. Candela gave her a thumbs up, and extended her arm towards her as far as she could manage.

She gripped her rope with one hand, leaned back, and lightly hopped off the wall to rappel down a few feet.

At that precise moment, the line in her hand went completely slack.

Blanche felt her stomach drop as she began to free fall. Her left arm snapped out in search of Candela's, who leaned down to catch her by the wrist before she slipped completely out of reach.

"Gotcha!" Candela's grasp was tight, but Blanche cried out in pain as all of her body weight suddenly yanked on her injured shoulder. "I'm gonna swing you over, try to hang on!"

Without waiting for an answer, Candela gave a forceful heave that sent Blanche crashing back into the wall. Her free hand and both feet scraped blindly against the sharp stone, desperate for purchase, and when they found a few tiny crevices to dig into she clung to the slippery rock like her life depended on it.

"Whoever did that is going to regret it," Candela said, her voice tight with strain. Blanche stared at the other trainer with glassy eyes. She was looking up, an expression of unbridled rage on her face. Blanche followed her gaze to the hole's entrance and watched the sky vanish beneath a blanket of pure blackness. The rain stopped abruptly, and Candela realized what had happened first. "They must have sealed the entrance off with that boulder."

 _Someone's trying to kill us._

Blanche rested her head against the cool cave wall and closed her eyes. Her face was suddenly entirely too warm, and the pain in her shoulder had become monstrous. She bit down on her lip to keep herself from screaming again as waves of agony radiated from where she'd been stabbed down the entire length of her arm.

 _There's a lake down there._

The last drops of water pattered against her hair, and she counted them in an attempt to calm herself down. It wasn't very effective, and by the time she got to five she could feel her pulse pounding in her temples.

 _I'm going to fall._

Her head felt like a balloon that was filling with hot air until it was ready to pop, and her body tensed as if it expected her to slip at any moment. The same fear played on repeat in her mind, consuming and enveloping every other potential thought.

 _I'm going to drown._

"What the fuck are they thinking!? What if I couldn't catch you? I even dropped my flashlight." Candela sighed and let go of Blanche's wrist, which fell lifelessly against her side. "Sorry if I was holding onto you too hard, that must have hurt a lot."

She opened her mouth to answer but found it too dry to let any words escape. She was trembling violently and her racing heart felt like it might burst. Blanche opened her eyes and tried to lift her left arm; she managed to get it to hip level before the pain became unbearable, and let it drop again.

Blanche blinked tears away, surprised. It hurt more than she imagined possible.

"Hey, you're shaking." Candela's voice sounded distant as blood rushed to her ears, and Blanche decided to focus on hanging onto the wall rather than trying to speak. Her short nails felt like they might crack as she dug her fingertips deeper into the rock, and she decided that the slight sting was a welcome distraction. "Are you alright? Can you move?"

She barely had the strength to shake her head once in response.

"Breathe, darling."

Blanche released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and began to hyperventilate.

"Okay, maybe not that fast." Candela pulled herself laterally to where Blanche was attached to the wall. The muscles in her arm felt like they'd been doused in kerosine and set aflame. "Can you talk? What's going on?"

"Tore my stitches. It will pass." Blanche swallowed thickly, her tongue uncomfortably heavy in her mouth. The pain was making her panic, the panic was making her head spin, and the combination threatened make her slip. She stared hard at the rock beneath her stiff fingers and spoke between rapid, shallow breaths. "I think I'm going to fall."

"You're a swimmer, right? Know any deep breathing exercises?" Candela inched her way closer until they were shoulder to shoulder. "I won't let you fall. What do you need?"

"The medicine in my bag. Big pocket."

Blanche inhaled slowly, counted to four and exhaled while Candela reached over and began to rifle through her items.

"I can't read the label on it at all. How much of this stuff are you supposed to take?"

"All of it. There's a large basin beneath us." Her vision went in and out of focus as it adjusted to the complete absence of light, and she blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the fog. "I can't swim like this."

"The whole thing is a bit much, yeah?" Candela pressed something against her lips and Blanche closed her eyes and tilted her head back. The bitter syrup tasted like liquid chalk, but it worked fast. She didn't stop drinking until the bottle was empty. "I guess it doesn't matter if you're high as a kite as long as you can move."

Blanche grit her teeth and nodded.

"If you're sure about there being a lake directly below us then we should jump as soon as you can move that arm. If there's a chance you're wrong and there's solid ground down there we should just keep climbing." Candela shifted her weight, trying to maintain a comfortable position. She was probably getting restless. "I doubt that there's more than one or two stories left before we hit the basement level. It's risky either way."

"I'm certain." Blanche hesitantly wiggled the fingers of her left hand. It hurt, but wasn't tortuous anymore. She clenched her fist and exhaled slowly, this time without counting. A sense of warm euphoria seemed to be creeping in to replace her apprehension. "Our lines were cut. Jumping now would be wise."

"Alright. But let's say this hole goes way deeper than I'm assuming..." Candela trailed off as she returned the empty bottle to Blanche's bag, zipped it up, and gently patted her on the back. She began to undo the rope around both of their waists. "What's the best way to do this? Take me step by step."

"You have to go feet first. Keep your elbows tucked and your body straight. Cover the lower half of your face with one hand so water can't rush into your airways and stabilize that wrist with the other. But don't hold your nose because it could break. Also, don't point your toes, and make sure to bend your knees after you hit the surface. Hopefully it won't be shallow, but you still don't want to get too much depth."

"Anything else, Coach?" Candela grinned widely, and Blanche felt herself return the smile. She let their ropes fall and they waited to hear a splash. After a few long seconds of silence Candela's expression grew serious again. "Are you okay? It's gonna get harder from here."

"I can't keep holding on, and I may not be able to swim for as long as we need. It's as you said." Blanche stretched her left arm out and brought it above her head to join the other. She still felt the occasional twinge, but as long as she was able to move when she hit the water it'd be worth it when the pain returned in full later. "Take a deep breath, jump away from the wall, and turn 180 degrees. We'll have to win quickly."

"This gym leader had better not be a pushover after putting us through all this extra bullshit." She puffed out her cheeks and exhaled sharply, then nodded twice. "I'm ready when you are."

"Candela? Thank you."

"God, you're so sappy tonight," Candela said, smiling. "Let's go."

Blanche inhaled, pushed herself off the wall with her legs and twisted her body in one fluid motion. Everything else melted away, and she focused on the sudden rush of adrenaline that flooded her veins as she hurtled towards the darkness below.

* * *

After what felt like a lifetime of falling, her feet finally broke the surface. She heard the muted splash of Candela's body entering the frigid water as her own body sank, and she opened her eyes and kicked her way towards a solitary, bright ray of light.

Blanche gasped when her face felt air, and she whipped around when she heard Candela surface beside her.

"You okay?"

"Relatively."

"Welcome, challengers! My name is Daisy, and I'll be your Gym Leader tonight!" A cheerful voice boomed around them, and they saw three stunning older women standing on a small platform that hung from the cavern ceiling. A spotlight shined directly over them as they posed dramatically, and their brightly colored hair sparkled. "We are the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City. If you'd like to face me you'll have to defeat Lily and Violet here first. Now, show us what you've got!"

"Before we get started I need to know something." Candela glared at them with stone cold eyes. "Are you responsible for having our lines cut back there? Was something like that part of the test?"

"Absolutely not. Even with a waiver a stunt like that would be a lawsuit waiting to happen." Daisy put her hands squarely on her hips and didn't bother turning to confer with her confused-looking sisters. "In the future, please use Pokemon League certified tools rather than some garbage someone left behind in another cave. Items like that are notoriously prone to failue."

Candela and Blanche exchanged glances. _She's still furious, but if_ _they don't know anything about it then we'll have to investigate later._

"This will be a 2v2 double battle. No switching is permitted." A referee stood atop a rock at the water's edge. There wasn't any genuine shoreline in sight, as if they were at the bottom of a well. "The challengers may strike first."

"We seriously have to do this while bobbing around in the water?" Candela yelled up at the gym leader, who nodded in response. "You were right, this is gonna be a pain in the ass."

"It helps to watch the battle from below the surface," Blanche said, supressing a shiver. She was surprised that Candela didn't seem affected by the almost freezing temperature. _We can't let this battle drag on. It's enough to be a hypothermia risk._ "Depending on the situation I may give our team instructions while under water."

"Just coordinate with me while you can. If you stay under for too long I'm gonna assume the worst." Candela tossed a pokeball high into the air and Blanche couldn't help but smile. "Come on, Poliwhirl! Let's make your old trainer proud!"

"It's your turn, Wartortle." He appeared directly in front of Blanche and swam forward to join his former teammate. The two pokemon exchanged some dialogue privately, then bobbed in place as they waited for their opponents to appear. "Remember what we practiced."

"Alright, you lively young trainers, we hope you're ready for an intense workout!" The other two sisters approached the platform's edge with perfectly coordinated dialogue and accompanying dance moves. Candela whistled and Blanche groaned inwardly, equal parts irritated and impressed. "You're out of your pretty little minds if you think we'll go easy on you. Starmie, Golduck, give us a good show!"

Their pokemon appeared and after a brief pose, all four of them backflipped into the water. Above them, the gym leader held up two signs that read _8_ and _9_ respectively. The women resurfaced and took their positions, unfazed by the scores.

"Have you seen either of those before?"

"No, but I doubt the purple one is a pure Water type."

"That's not good for us. We're gonna focus it."

"We should be able to whittle them down with status effects."

"You may begin!" The referee blew his whistle, and Blanche tensed as she prepared to move.

"Poliwhirl, Body Slam the star thing!" The enemy pokemon was surprisingly agile despite its large size. It deftly spun out of range, cutting through the water like a whirling blade, then stopped on a dime and waited for its trainer's instructions.

Instead of watching to see what they would do next, Blanche decided to focus on her own opponent.

"Wartortle, use Water Pulse!" Blanche dove after issuing the command, then swam to the right to observe from a safe distance. Her head felt like it was made of clouds, but she could move without wanting to scream. Wartortle allowed himself to sink, then fired a perfect ring of water at the enemy Golduck, which took the hit without even trying to dodge. They surfaced in unison, still watching their opponents carefully.

 _Water Pulse has a 1 in 5 chance of confusing the target. It doesn't look particularly fast, and shouldn't be able to deal much damage to us. We have a slight advantage._

"Okay Starmie, use Hydro Pump. And don't you dare miss!" The woman with indigo hair—Violet, presumably—yelled and began to swim closer to Candela. Meanwhile, the younger sister with bright pink hair, Lily, stayed in place. "Golduck, give us a Rain Dance please."

As expected, heavy drops of rain began to fall inside the cavern. At the same time, the star-shaped pokemon sank down until most of its body was submerged. It let out a high pitched sigh as it prepared its attack, and Blanche's eyes narrowed.

 _What's going on? Hydro Pump doesn't require any time to charge, and that pokemon is extemely fast._

"Come on, try another Body Slam." Poliwhirl swam in a wide circle to build speed, then leapt high into the open air with her arms and legs spread wide. She began spinning to build momentum on the way down, just like they'd practiced together. "We'll hit 'em head on!"

 _Candela wants to get close in order to guarantee a hit with Toxic. As Water type specialists, they must have guessed Poli's ability, yet Violet chose to use that attack. Is she that sure that it'll still do damage?_

"This is dangerous." Blanche bit her lip as she bobbed in the frigid water, unable to pinpoint what was making her so uneasy. Unlike Candela who was great at strategizing on the fly, she prefered thinking of likely possible scenarios and ways to prepare for them well beforehand. "Stop! Poliwhirl, you need to dodge it!"

"No, keep going forward!" Candela shouted, staring hard at Blanche. The expression on her face was easy to read. _'You entrusted her to me, so don't contradict my orders in the middle of a fight. You'll just confuse her.' I know that, but still._ "Believe in us a little, yeah? We can't afford to drag this out."

Although she had no difficulty analyzing unexpected situations as they arose, she sometimes had a bad habit of hesitating for too long. Thanks to her precise, borderline-obsessive attention to detail, she was prone to overthinking every possible angle before she felt comfortable giving commands.

Sometimes, a split-second judgment had to be made.

 _To make the right choice based on nothing more than intuition.. that comes easily to you two._

"I'm being paranoid. Water Absorb should hold up regardless of how powerful the attack is." Blanche frowned as the water she was floating in caught her notice. Visually, it had been almost imperceptible, but she'd felt the change before she saw it. She'd felt the currents shift, flowing towards the opposing team. The entire lake was at least an inch less deep than it had been moments before. "Wartortle, switch targets and try Water Pulse again!"

The starmie jumped a short distance, humming like a machine all the while, and released its attack in a thin, highly pressurized stream. The powerful jets narrowly missed Poliwhirl, who had made no effort to dodge, only to cut through the solid cave wall above them like it wasn't even there.

Blanche felt her jaw fall open as she watched the blast carve a deep gash into the rock like a laser before finally tapering off.

The star pokemon grunted as if it was in pain, and its gem glowed bright red as it fell backwards into the ring of water Wartortle had shot from below it. Meanwhile, Poliwhirl landed squarely on top of it with a huge splash, completing the devastating combination attack. Blanche's eyes widened and she frantically swam back towards Candela.

"Did you see that glow? It has a Life Orb!" Blanche spoke rapidly, her features twisted into a mix of shock, excitement, and fear. She held her throbbing shoulder, and kicked to keep her head above the surface. "The rain is boosting Water type attacks tremendously, and I'm sure its ability has a similar effect. That Hydro Pump was twice as powerful as it had any right to be."

"Looks like you guys managed to confuse it. Doesn't matter how freakishly strong it is now, they're screwed." Candela pumped her right fist in the air while her left hand cupped her mouth. "Let's go! Grab on tight and use Toxic!"

"Oh no, Starmie! Shake it off!" The girl with indigo hair lost her composure a bit, and her pokemon was no better—it swam erratically, drawing a lopsided figure eight. "Keep using Hydro Pump!"

The next blast hit Poliwhirl directly, and Blanche couldn't help but gasp in shock as it made contact. Although it was still powerful enough to slice rock, when the water touched Poliwhirl's body it simply became a harmless mist that she absorbed through her skin.

The pokemon's second attempt at a Hydro Pump misfired, and it moaned in pain as it took heavy damage from its Life Orb, confusion, and poison consecutively.

"Don't worry Vi, we've got your back." The other pokemon vanished from sight, suddenly twice as fast as it had been during the previous turn. "Golduck, hit the wartortle with a Psyshock!"

 _It must have Swift Swim. We won't be able to keep up in the rain, but our Water type attacks are stronger too._

"Protect!" Wartortle spun around, pulling up a shield behind his shell an instant before the attack landed. "Good, now counter with Scald!"

"Waaaah! You burned him!" The pink haired sister swam forward and took the Golduck in her arms. She stuck her tongue out at Blanche before turning to the referee. "Yo ref, it's our loss."

The referee looked at the other sister for confirmation. She nodded in agreement and both sisters recalled their pokemon, then swam towards him. He blew his whistle and declared Candela and Blanche the victors.

Wartortle began glowing in the water, and Blanche watched as he evolved with a mixture of pride and awestruck fascination. He looked back at her with a confident smile, and she gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Sorry if that was a bit anti-climactic," Daisy called out from above them. Rather than celebrate prematurely, Blanche had recalled Blastoise and pulled back to join Candela once again. "We're borrowing our little sister's pokemon while she's away, and although we hate losing we absolutely loathe seeing them get hurt needlessly even more."

Blanche bit the inside of her cheek, frowning deeply. The implication was clear, and she didn't like it.

"These guys are full of it," Candela said, her quiet voice brimming with contempt. "They're looking down on us."

"Indeed. She'll also benefit from the rain without having to summon it herself." Blanche watched Daisy carefully as the woman absently examined her nails. "They're fully confident that we have no chance, even with a free win."

"Let's wipe that smug look off her face."

"This will be a 2v1 battle. No switching is permitted."

"I really want to go home and take a long bubble bath, so we're going to end this quickly. Gyarados, come out!" Daisy tossed a pokeball over the edge of the diveboard, sat down and stretched. "Thanks to this incredible cave we can finally let our favorite monster rampage as it pleases without worrying about the gym collapsing."

"Do your best, Pidgeotto." Blanche threw a pokeball directly overhead, and looked over the gyarados carefully. She was somewhat familiar with this species, and though it was a formidable pokemon to be sure, this one was unremarkable aside from being large.

Even if it was overleveled, a 2 on 1 battle seemed a bit unfair.

"Looks tough. I'm counting on you, Delta." Candela called forth her favorite teammate with none of her usual confidence. "I've got this awful sinking feeling, Blanche. My stomach's in knots."

"That's the effect of Intimidate, to be sure. It's a bit cheap, but I have a strategy in mind."

As a massive Charizard appeared above them, unfurled her wings and snarled, Blanche recalled Candela mentioning that they hadn't been getting along ever since their run in with Team Rocket.

She desperately hoped that Delta was still following commands.

"The Gym Leader will strike first." The referee whistled, then followed the two women into a hole in the wall. It probably lead to the rest of the cave's basement, Blanche thought absently. "You may begin!"

"Gyarados, let's start off at full power. Mega-Evolve!" Daisy raised one fist to the air, and Blanche noticed the glowing bracelet around her wrist for the first time. "Then give us a Dragon Dance!"

Blanche paled as she watched its transformation, completely enraptured. The massive pokemon lost some of its length in exchange for considerably more bulk, traded its four white dorsal fins for one that was enormous in comparison, and replaced the yellow coloration on its belly for black, indicative of its new partial Dark typing.

Even in her home region of Kalos, she had never seen a Mega Evolution in person, much less faced one in battle. The serpentine pokemon screamed and began to fly in a large circle.

 _It's good that we switched to Flying types. If it attacks the water we could die._

"Delta, use Smokescreen!" Candela shouted, snapping Blanche out of her shock. Even in the rain, it looked like like she was beginning to sweat. "That was your plan, right?"

"Yes, although I definitely miscalculated. I didn't account for this possibility." Blanche bit the inside of her cheek, suddenly feeling unsure. _Three turns of accuracy-reducing moves from both of us will be enough to ensure that it can't hit our pokemon. But that's no longer the issue._ "Pidgeotto, use Sand Attack!"

"You're the first to attempt something this cheeky, and that's because it's a bad idea." Daisy's face had lost all suggestion of cheerfulness. "Most trainers aren't so reckless. You're needlessly putting your lives at risk."

"Our pokemon are in the same danger right now," Candela shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger at her. Blanche nodded in agreement, thinking back to that Starmie's stone-cutting Hydro Pump. "Enough with the lecture. If you think you can crush us so easily, go ahead and try!"

"Well, you kids signed the waiver, so I won't hold back." Daisy pointed down as the Mega Gyarados emerged from the smoke, screaming in rage. "How about another Dragon Dance? We'll make you forfeit."

The thick cloud of smoke began to whirl counter-clockwise, forming the shape of a tornado.

"Keep using Sand Attack, Pidgeotto!" Blanche felt her muscles stiffen, threatening to cramp. Her head felt like it might detach and float away at any moment, and she could feel injuries starting to flare up again. "Candela... we're in trouble."

"I know, _fuck_ , I know!" Candela shouted, bobbing closer to the other trainer. She failed to give her charizard a new command, so it continued laying down a smokescreen. "We've got this, just lemme think for a sec."

"It's much too late to regret provoking me. Gyarados, you know what to do!" The blonde gym leader had a triumphant smile on her face, and Blanche felt her stomach lurch as a familiar figure silently landed behind her on the platform. "Give us one last Dragon Dance!"

"Gym Leader, behind you!"

A short struggle ensued. Daisy whirled around, then doubled over, moaning in pain. _Stabbed, most likely._ She stumbled backward, tightly clutching her stomach, and slipped off the edge without even screaming. Blanche blinked slowly, not quite convinced that she wasn't hallucinating.

"Hurry Delta, catch her!"

"Don't worry, I'll let you get right back to your little gym battle momentarily." The wine red overcoat, thigh high boots, tight skirt, and crop top may have been new, but the long white hair and wide smirk were unmistakable. "Good to see you, Blanche. Grow a spine yet?"

"You joined Team Rocket?" Blanche gaped in shock, her body trembling violently with a combination of fear, bubbling rage, and the beginnings of hypothermia. "You joined _Team Rocket_?"

"Yeah, and I'm actually conducting an experiment right now so we'll have to catch up later. I'm sure you of all people can understand that." Noire attached Daisy's Key Stone to some apparatus on her arm, and a high pitched hum reverberated throughout the chamber. A white light began to emerge from deep within the cloud of smoke. "Three Dragon Dances, huh? I suggest you make yourselves scarce, unless you _want_ to die young and unfulfilled. 'Prepare for trouble,' and all that."

"Blanche, we need to move. Now."

"No, wait, I—"

Blanche didn't realize how fatal a mistake hesitating had been until the moment the beam of light emerged from the smokescreen. Where starmie's Hydro Pump had cut stone, this attack melted it outright. Candela shouted something that Blanche couldn't hear over the ringing in her ears, then tackled her, pulling both of them beneath the surface just before the beam reached them.

 _She was trying to tell me to take a breath,_ Blanche thought absently as they sank deeper into the freezing abyss. It was eerily quiet, and so cold that she couldn't feel anything but a vague suggestion of pain. Blanche watched the hazy flashes of light somewhere far above through half-lidded eyes, and she tried to turn her head so she could look for her partner.

A flash of red in her peripheral caught her attention, and she saw Candela. She was sinking rapidly, her face twisted into a silent scream. Blanche tried to will her arms to move, but her muscles didn't so much as twitch.

 _She took the worst of it, for sure. She's always saving me at her own expense_

Her eyes closed against her will, and she found herself alone in the darkness, falling forever. It felt like she was hurtling through space, down and down and down. Drowning was always scary at first, but the sooner you accepted it, the less frightening and violent it would be. Once your lungs filled with water, your brain would pretend it was back in the safety of the womb.

Agony first. Then peace.

 _We're going to die because of me._

It felt just like falling asleep.

 **[i've been watching you]**

The voice was like a shard of glass sliding down her back. Blanche opened her eyes, and while the water surrounding her was still pitch black, she no longer felt alone.

"Who's there? Am I dreaming? Are you god? Am I dead?"

 **[** **fear, passion, despair—** **flailing, screeching, so very loud]**

"Candela's already..." Blanche glanced around frantically, staring into the emptiness. She had reached the limit of holding her breath without preparation and now her head felt like it was about to burst. "I have to save her! If you're god, then please..."

 **[what do you desire so desperately]**

"I just want to help my friend."

 **[then show me more interesting things,** **human]**

When Blanche's eyes opened again, they were a glowing, icy blue.


	8. Chapter 7

Candela clawed at the darkness in search of oxygen. She couldn't tell which way was up, couldn't even see her own hands, but she could feel the unrelenting pressure building up in her head, squeezing tighter with every passing moment.

Bright amber eyes darted around, looking for light, looking for Blanche, looking for _anything_ that wasn't pitch black water. Helplessness had never suited her very well.

She could tell she didn't have long. Almost all of the air had rushed out of her lungs the instant that Gyarados' boosted Hyper Beam struck them. The blast had completely stunned her, then a great current had dragged her down, and now she was disoriented and alone somewhere in the deep, silent, impenetrable darkness.

She tried to remember how to swim, tried to will herself to pull out Poliwhirl's pokeball, but her body was moving on its own—her arms and legs thrashed about at random.

It hasn't even been thirty seconds and I'm already drowning, she thought, as the last bit of air she had left escaped through her nose. She was well beyond the point of being able to save herself, but that didn't change the fact that she had to do _something_.

Giving up was out of the question.

Candela closed her eyes and tried to focus on regaining control of her limbs. She knew how to swim, she just had to make her body do the correct motions. She just had to make it listen to her, just had to choke down and ignore the panic response. As seconds continued to pass she imagined the black behind her eyelids shifting into a blaring emergency red until finally, a single desperate instinct consumed her.

 _Don't inhale. Don't inhale. Don't inhale._

Unable to hold out any longer, she swallowed.

Then she lost the ability to form coherent thoughts.

Frigid water rushed into her nose and mouth, burning its way into her chest and forcing her to cough. It was like breathing in liquid fire that froze once it was inside her. She hacked and choked and inhaled more and more water.

Once her lungs filled with fluid, Candela opened her eyes again. Somehow, she no longer registered the searing pain, or frantic desperation, or all-consuming regret, or anything at all. Her body went still, and as her consciousness slipped away she saw the sharp blackness surrounding her shift into a crystal clear blue.

It felt like falling asleep.

Then, fingertips brushed against the collar of her nylon turtleneck and her body flooded with adrenaline once more.

* * *

Confusion. Pain. Fear.

A whirlwind of emotions spilled out of the human she was holding by the throat, assaulting her senses like the stench of a corpse left to rot in the sun. She looked up to meet the shocked eyes of another human standing on a raised platform suspended in the air, and smiled when it took a step back. It put a hand to its ear and spoke.

"Opera 2 reporting. I retrieved the Key Stone without issue, but unforseen complications have arisen. Further testing is impossible. I'm pulling out for now."

The one she'd saved sputtered and gasped, kneeling with both hands clamped around her wrist, desperate to expel the fluid from its lungs. She'd created a massive disk of ice upon which they could rest, but it continued to struggle in her grip as if it wanted to escape the snapping jaws of a predator. It had awoken on their way to the surface, and as feeble as the creature was it had not stopped flailing ever since.

"Let me go," it managed to choke out, voice a strained whisper. She released the ungrateful wretch and it fell forward, violently coughing until it could breathe again. Above them, the creature whose violence had awoken her was recovering its energy in preparation for another attack. Something had made it manic with rage, unable to be reasoned with.

Articuno rolled her left shoulder and felt a sharp stab of pain. It would take time to relearn how to use a new body, time that her current vessel did not have. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and allowed a chill to spread through her until the discomfort vanished.

She looked down at the human, unharmed but shaking. Although she'd fulfilled her new bondmate's desperate wish when she rescued it from certain death, allowing the object of said wish to die in the immediate minutes to follow might violate the spirit with which this body was offered up.

That wouldn't do.

"I have a lot of questions, so let's just start with something simple." Regaining its strength, it hauled itself to its feet and took an aggressive stance despite its trembling. A large creature of the flame landed behind it, carrying an unconscious human, while a creature of prey—the angry, territorial sort—shrieked overhead. "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours, Candela." The words fell out of her mouth without prompting, and Articuno blinked as she endured a sudden swell of memories and emotions, an involuntary clenching of her chest. The human inside her wasn't sleeping as deeply as she'd assumed, but that could be of use. "We are friends, are we not?"

"I think I would have noticed by now if my dearest, darling Blanche had glowing blue eyes and magic powers."

"You'll forgive me for hiding my true nature until now, won't you?"

The human tensed, and a large chunk of the cavern's wall was blasted into powder. Articuno had watched monsters of this breed reduce entire countrysides to smouldering cinders. It could get lucky with his next attack, and it would be difficult to fulfill her bargain if this child never stopped struggling while she tried to keep it alive; even worse, her true body could be damaged if the cave collapsed, and it was already recovering from serious injury.

"Why don't you give that bad acting a rest? I've seen a whole parade of Blanche cosplayers today and none of you seem to measure up." A sharp hum cut through the air, growing higher in both volume and pitch with each passing second. Candela crossed her arms, the angry sneer on her face a poor match for the worry she radiated. "So look. I don't care if you're a mutant ditto or some kind of super-powered body snatcher, and I don't have time for these games. Is she okay?"

"You should be thankful for my mercy," Articuno said, her lips curving upward at the edges. She stepped towards the human, who took a step back and patted her growling fire companion on the snout. _That one could be a problem_. "I was given this vessel in order to save your insignificant life, and in exchange I will also use its last breath to protect my true body's resting place. Its dying desire will be honored, of course."

"I didn't see my friend sign any contract, so why don't you just go back to doing whatever it is you were doing before?"

"Time is short, young one. Do you hear that?" Articuno strode forward until she was looking up into Candela's blazing amber eyes, a thin sheet of frost crawling up the side of her neck and spreading across her face. "That is the sound of your death, swiftly approaching."

"Sounds like what happens to us is none of your business."

"You do not understand. I must fulfill my bargain, I must ensure my own recovery, and I _will_ do so." Using her most powerful attack on the creature of rage would destroy her new body, but more importantly it would eliminate the threat to where she lay below, sleeping. Healing. "I suggest you exercise some wisdom and stand aside."

"Roast her on my signal, Delta. Full power. We're exorcists tonight," Candela said, stepping closer until she loomed over the Titan of Ice, hands balled into fists at her sides. Delta's tail flared a bright bluish-white in reponse. "I suggest _you_ exercise some wisdom and get out of my fucking face."

"You would harm your precious friend, just to be rid of your very savior?" Articuno scrunched her eyebrows together, looking truly like Blanche for the first time. "Why stand within range of your own threat? Are you planning to die with her?"

"I'm standing right where I need to stand. We'll tough it out together, like always. Something about all this ice tells me you won't manage as well, though." Candela stood nose to nose with Articuno, and looked down at her. "Besides, if all she wanted was for you to save me then you've settled that already."

"If you are determined to throw your life away and dishonor your friend, perhaps I should see to it myself." Articuno smiled as the frost crept its way up her left cheek. These humans were more interesting than she'd hoped. "This is your final warning."

"Do you hear that?" Candela jerked a thumb behind her as the mega-gyarados above them released a thunderous roar, and her companion answered in turn. "That's the sound of your death, swiftly approaching."

"So be it."

* * *

Candela watched as Blanche glanced up to where she knew that monster was preparing its next devastating move. As whatever was controlling her body raised a hand, Candela turned her head and shouted for Delta to attack.

 **"Begone."**

"Flame Burst!"

A thick lance of fire exploded a short distance away. Blanche pitched forward, eyes rolling back in her head and mouth hanging open, and Candela caught her dead weight in her arms. She guided her to the ground, repositioned the shorter girl so that she'd be easy to carry if need be, and tried to rouse her without using too much force.

Meanwhile, an enormous _splash_ doused them in water and rocked their disk of ice like a sailboat in a storm. It began to break apart from the edges inward, some sections dissolving entirely while others separated into tiny chunks.

"C'mon, wake up. We have to move." She patted Blanche on the cheek, found her skin frozen to the touch and checked for a pulse. Then she lost all semblance of composure. "Oh god, you're... No, no, no. _Fuck_. Wake up. You have to wake up, _please_ , you can't just die on me."

Seconds passed by with only the sound of Candela's quiet sobs breaking the cavern's relative silence. Then, Blanche groaned, shifted in the other girl's grip.

"Cold," was all Blanche managed to say before Candela pulled her into a tight hug.

"Of course you're cold, you sold your soul to some frost demon because you're an idiot and now they're gonna have to amputate your whole stupid goddamn face."

"You say that now." Blanche smiled, green eyes half-lidded. She was shaking like a dead leaf in the wind, and spoke haltingly between short breaths. "But weren't you just confessing your love for me? Mere moments ago?"

"Don't tempt me," Candela said, grinning back despite the sting in her eyes. She leaned down until their foreheads were touching; Blanche was still colder than a corpse, her heartbeat abnormally slow, but she was conscious and breathing and that was enough. "How many near death experiences do you need to have before you're satisfied for the week?"

"I think I've met my mmph—!" the white-haired trainer was interrupted by a sudden flurry of feathers and talons that struck them both like a heavy down pillow. "Daily quota. Hello, Pidgeotto. I'm okay."

After reassuring her exhausted pokemon that she was indeed his true owner, Blanche recalled him and stood, leaning heavily against Candela. Heavy, plodding footsteps behind her were her only warning before Delta nuzzled the back of her head with all the gentleness of an angry Tauros. One scalding hot puff of smoke later and both of them stopped shivering for the moment.

The unconscious gym leader in Delta's arms moaned softly, and both trainers tended to her wound. A potion and a torn piece of cloth wrapped around her stomach were the best they could offer.

"She needs a doctor, and we need to get gone." Candela said, as the fissures in the platform drew too close to ignore. "I dunno what your body snatcher did to Gyarados, but I doubt it'll leave us alone long."

"I suspect it used the move 'Freeze Dry.' Gyarados was frozen solid quite rapidly," Blanche said, frowning as she tried to make sense of what she'd seen her body do under something else's control. She had been watching, listening, a helpless spectator in her own body, and now she felt like there was a block of ice the size of her fist taking up the space in her chest where her heart had been. "I'm not sure that I'm accurately describing what took place. My body feels strange."

"There's a lot for us to talk about once we're safe. Starting with your evil twin, unless I hallucinated that part."

"Indeed."

The blast of energy that came from below vaporized a nearby section of the platform.

"That's our cue!" Candela shouted, helped Blanche mount the crouching charizard, jumped on in front of her and set them to flight, never missing a step. Delta grunted with the effort of taking off without a running start, but the gyarados' enraged scream as it shot out of the water after them was great encouragement. "Listen, three people is too much for her. I'll swim my ass off to that hole the ref left through earlier and draw its attention away, while Delta carries you and the gym leader up the tunnel in the ceiling. Should be just wide enough for her to climb, but too tight for that thing to follow."

"And then you'll get help while we wait for Daisy to bleed to death? Delta can't move the boulder up there, and even if she could whoever cut our ropes could be waiting on the other side." Blanche clung to Candela's back as Delta banked hard, narrowly avoiding a Hydro Pump. "Gyarados' accuracy has been reduced, but on the off chance that you do catch its attention you won't make it far."

"I'm all for it if you can think of something better!"

"Do you mean that?" Blanche smiled in spite of the ongoing chaos surrounding them. "Because I just thought of a plan with a higher probability for success!"

"Let's hear it, then."

"Myself, Blastoise and Poliwhirl will divert its attention and cover your escape."

"That's just my plan with extra steps."

"Yes, and I'm a faster swimmer so I could actually survive. We'll defeat it while you get Daisy to safety. Perhaps her sisters are still somewhere in the cave."

"Defeat it? Did you hit your head on a rock when I wasn't looking?" Candela twisted around to stare at Blanche as Delta dodged another attack. Just one direct hit and they were dead. "What about your injuries? And I'm just supposed to bob my way over there with that lady on my back and hope it doesn't look our way after it kills you guys? That's way too risky."

"I'm not in any pain for now, and believe me, I don't want to put myself at the mercy of a rampaging Gyarados any more than you do." Blanche closed her eyes against the air rushing into her face while the charizard rolled to dodge yet another attack. "We're in the basement. We can't ignore the possibility that it could collapse the entire cave before you even make it to the surface. Articuno weakened it, so let's take this opportunity to neutralize it and ensure our successful escape."

Candela ground her teeth, searched Blanche's face for suicidal delusions and found only grim determination and fear. She sighed and faced forward.

"Alright. Do your best."

Without waiting for a response, Candela handed a pokeball to her and nodded. And then it was time.

Delta shrouded them in a Smokescreen, and groaned as a Hydro Pump struck her in the back. They emerged from the smoke falling in separate directions—Candela recalled the unconscious Charizard before she hit the water, then began pulling Daisy to shore towards the hole that the gym leader's sisters had retreated through.

Blanche, Blastoise and Poliwhirl met the gyarados head-on.

Immediately, the gyarados locked onto Candela. Maybe it noticed its trainer and thought she was in danger, maybe it sensed that they were trying to escape, or maybe it was just carrying on with its random, wanton destruction. Either way, Candela felt the blood drain from her face as a Hyper Beam raced towards her.

"Protect!" Blanche shouted, and Blastoise intercepted the blast with his enormous shell glowing white. The attack fizzled out harmlessly, and Candela resumed kicking like her life depended on it. "Poliwhirl, get in close and use Toxic while it recharges!"

Poliwhirl shot out of the water and splattered thick black sludge right in the Mega-Gyarados' face. It screamed in pain and began to thrash in the water. It wasn't close enough to strike anything with its huge body, but the rough waves it generated would be a problem for any swimmer, let alone someone carrying a person.

"Excellent work. Now help those two get out of here." Poliwhirl gave her former trainer a thumbs up, then dove back into the water like a torpedo. Not quite thinking straight, Blanche swam towards Blastoise as the gyarados turned its wrathful gaze towards them. "It can't have much stamina left. Use Scald!"

Gyarados screamed and launched towards them. The sudden burst of fear-fueled adrenaline sharpened her focus, and Blanche didn't watch to see if her pokemon's attack landed. Instead, she dove underwater to get a faster stroke and swam in the general direction of the exit at top speed.

 _It's focused on Blastoise. Candela should have made it by now. I have to get out of the water before I'm crushed or sucked down by a rip current._

Blanche surfaced to take a breath and glanced back to see Gyarados repeatedly smashing its body into Blastoise's back. Even with the protection of his hard shell, the bulky Water-type grimaced with each brutal strike. It seemed crazed now, foam bubbling from its open mouth.

 _Thrash lasts for three turns, inflicts massive damage, and then confuses the user. Could we survive long enough to stall until it faints from the poison?_

She found her expression mirroring that of her Pokemon, and looked ahead. Candela was crouched in front of the hole with Daisy draped over her back, staring directly at her. She looked ready to collapse, and they'd still have to go through the rest of the cave to get out.

 _If I make a mistake, all three of us will die down here._

"Hang in there, Blastoise! Protect!" This time, when the confused Mega-Gyarados threw his body against Blastoise's shell, it cried out in pain, then slid halfway off of it into the water. Barely conscious, it prepared to attack again, and Blanche shouted a command at the same moment that Blastoise carried it out. "Now, Scald!"

Mega-Gyarados went limp and began reverting to its previous form. It was halfway there when it fired off a half-cocked Hyper Beam. It wasn't a direct hit, but it never had to be. Blanche lost consciousness and began to float face down on the water's surface.

"Hurry up and drag her over here so I can smack her." Candela grit her teeth, knees scraping against the hard rock as she slid Daisy off her shoulders and to the ground. Blastoise swam over to retrieve his trainer with surprising speed despite his cumbersome size, and gently deposited her in the arms of the Valor aspirant. She pulled his pokeball off of Blanche's belt and recalled him, knowing he wouldn't fit through the makeshift tunnel. "Why are you always the one pulling stunts like this? Like you've got something to prove."

"Gyarados is unable to battle. The challengers win!"

Candela's head whipped around so fast it looked like her neck might snap. She shifted her glare from the trembling, sweaty referee to the smirking girl standing behind him.

The girl who was identical to Blanche except for the scarlet _R_ emblazoned on her black crop top.

"You have got to be shitting me," Candela said, at a loss for more substantial words. The referee had his hands up and looked like he might try to run for it at any moment.

"I promised I'd let you finish your gym battle," she said, smirk twisting into a grin. "And keeping promises is important. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Who the hell are you?" Candela stood with Blanche in her arms. She wasn't sure she could still fight, but she'd still try. "Why are you doing this?"

"C'mon, who I am is pretty obvious. A better question would be who that person you're cradling so tenderly is." She punched the referee out and tossed an envelope at Candela's feet, then spun the small knife in her off hand; it was bright red even in the darkness. "You get the situation, right? I'm letting you cute little witnesses live, so you owe me a favor. Don't forget that."

"You evil bastards think you can do whatever you want, but you're fucking with the wrong people now." Candela heard voices approaching, and tightened her grip around Blanche. "You're gonna regret it."

"Hey, I took out the bitch that put dozens of you kids in the hospital this week. I'm practically a hero." The girl laughed, and it fully struck Candela how people with the same face could look so utterly different. "All depends on your perspective. I'll be seeing you soon."

Still grinning, she pushed down on something attached to her belt and vanished.

Moments later, Violet and Lily rushed in with a squad of police officers in tow. Candela sighed, wondering if there would ever be an end to the questions she had.

* * *

A full two days had passed before Blanche woke up.

She opened her eyes to find Candela staring at her from one of the chairs beside her hospital bed. Blanche gradually took in her surroundings, disoriented and woozy from whatever medication she'd been given. Thick blankets had been pulled all the way up to her chin, covering a sky blue papier-mâché hospital gown that didn't quite reach her knees. The fresh flowers by the window, a hollow ache in her stomach, and an IV pumping warm saline into her veins filled in some of the blanks for her.

She was too cold to shiver.

Candela stood and left without saying a word, before Blanche could manage to think of what she should say, and she felt a sharp pang in her chest that she couldn't explain. She tried to pull herself upright as the door swung closed, but couldn't muster up enough energy to move. She sighed, settled back, and listened to the quiet, rhythmic pulse of her EKG machine.

"Hey."

Blanche could not tell when she'd fallen asleep, or for how long, but Candela was back in the room carrying a tray, looking down at her expectantly. Blanche said nothing, not quite trusting her ability to speak.

"Have some soup. They say you've been in a constant state of mild hypothermia since the cave. That was two days ago. A nurse will probably check on you soon, and the police will want a statement." Candela pressed a button on the side of the bed, and its top half slowly rose until Blanche was partially upright. A small table flipped out of the handrail, and Candela placed the lunch tray she'd brought on top of it, along with an envelope with Blanche's name on it. "The doctors can't figure out why you're still freezing, but I have an idea. I think you do, too. It's snowing outside, and those injuries you sustained at Mount Moon have miraculously healed."

Blanche stared at the letter, lips pursed tightly. The familiar, sloppy handwriting immediately identified who it was from.

"It's just flurries, but the way all the locals are freaking out you'd think it was a whole fucking blizzard." Candela was staring at her like she was growing a second head, so Blanche pulled the covers down with shaky fingers and picked up the plastic spoon just to have something to do with her hands. "That gym leader will pull through, by the way. Her army of supermodel sisters are keeping her company. Lucky her."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm exhausted, to be honest. Haven't stopped training. Can't stop." She ran a hand through her choppy brown hair. She had fresh bandages covering the acid burns on both arms, and Blanche found herself hoping it wouldn't scar as badly as it must have hurt. "And I have to say, I'm a little unsettled after meeting two asshole versions of you in the same night. I'm half-expecting your eyes to start glowing if I piss you off."

"Have you reported what I..." Blanche paused to lick her lips, the dryness of her mouth impossible to ignore now that she was speaking. She glanced towards the window again, its drawn blinds making her feel isolated. Her mind was foggy, her body heavy, and it felt like she would never be warm again. "Have you reported what _she_ did?"

"I told them what happened." Candela sighed and slumped back down into her chair. She absentmindedly brushed the back of her hand against Blanche's, and frowned at how cold to the touch her skin still was. "'The rampaging Gyarados awoke the legendary pokemon that was down there, and it defended its territory.' You were unconscious almost the entire time, and what little the referee saw happens to corroborate my story. We can move on once you're discharged."

"I apologize," Blanche said, shaking her head. "You should not have had to cover for me like that. I know you hate dishonesty."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't lie, and it wouldn't have come up if anyone in this shithole city was remotely trustworthy. Team Rocket is running amok and the police only pretend to care. It's not normal."

"Something strange is happening in this region. It seems that the authorities are either inept or blatantly corrupt. Perhaps we should talk to Interpol about recent events. Or Global."

"They'd probably want to experiment on you."

"That isn't funny, Candela."

"I wasn't joking. Speaking of corruption and Team Rocket, I have to ask." Candela's expression was blank aside from a certain hardness in her eyes. She tried not to fidget under the sudden scrutiny. "What's your connection with that person? Ran into her on our way out. Thought she was going to stab me."

"She is my twin sister. I haven't heard from her in many years." Blanche stared at the letter on her tray, then took a small spoonful of soup instead of reaching for it. It was salty and thin, but still hot. "Her name is Noire. We do not have much in common."

"Got any other lookalikes out there that I should know about?"

"No, not that are still... no."

"Sorry." Candela looked away, and Blanche swallowed another mouthful of soup so she wouldn't have to respond. They sat together in silence for a few minutes before Candela spoke again. "It's funny. I thought I was pretty tough, but lately I'm always powerless when it matters most. I keep thinking about sinking down there, forever. I knew I was dying, knew you needed my help, and I still couldn't do a thing. Now I'm just babbling at you."

"Not at all. When I left the hospital, that Instinct trainer warned me not to challenge the gym in my condition. I brushed him off, but it seems his concerns were more than valid." Blanche closed her eyes and sighed. "I saw you. Drowning. I don't necessarily believe in any higher power, but at that time I could only pray. It must have heard me."

"Do you have any insight on all that stuff with, uh, what was its name again?"

"The Freeze pokemon, Articuno." A new person swung the door open, glanced at the girls and took the empty seat beside Candela's. "Kanto doesn't have as many legendaries as other regions, but we lowly mortals still get caught up in their flights of fancy every so often. Pardon the intrusion. Please continue."

"'Pardon' my ass. Who do you think you are, barging in someone's hospital room like you own the place?"

"I'm Misty, of the Elite Four, formerly the Cerulean City gym leader. My big sis was nearly killed by someone who perfectly matches this description." The intruder gestured towards Blanche, smiling amicably. She was a young woman in her mid-twenties, wearing only a white one-piece bathing suit and a sky blue overcoat. Her rust colored hair hung off to the side in a long ponytail. "I thought I'd have a little chat with her while I'm visiting Daisy, and just happened to overhear some interesting things before I had the chance to knock. Your witness statement makes much more sense in context."

Candela watched Blanche stiffen, and crossed her own arms.

"Let me rephrase: I don't care who you are. My friend needs to rest, so we'd appreciate it if you left."

"I get it. I'm a stranger, and the adults in my city have been letting you down left and right. This 'challenge' has gotten way out of hand, so our gym will be ending its participation here." Misty smiled at Candela, and then settled her gaze on Blanche. "Even so, I mean it when I say that if my understanding of your conversation just now is correct, this might be a bit more complicated than you two are prepared to handle by yourselves. So, let's talk."

"Do you know what's happening to me?" Blanche said abruptly, biting her lip hard. She put down her plastic spoon before it snapped between her fingers. "My wounds healed inexplicably, but I feel something else. It's as if there's ice, slowly spreading inside my chest. It's so cold I can barely breathe."

"So it's true, then. Articuno bonded to you, and even used some of its abilities in your body right away." Misty's kind smile faded, replaced by a grave expression. "I'm surprised you're still alive. The last time... well, you're pretty lucky."

"Can you help her?" Candela asked, suddenly sitting up straight. "Why's she still having side-effects if it was a temporary thing? What exactly happened, anyway? Will the doctor be able to fix it?"

"The best they can do is hook her up to a dialysis machine for the rest of her life, which would be, well, short," Misty said, shaking her head. She leaned in to get a closer look at Blanche, and frowned when she saw something she apparently didn't like. "It's a lifetime deal. Her body will have to learn to adjust to Articuno's continued presence on its own, or it'll kill her sooner rather than later. I can offer some heartfelt advice, though."

"Hold on, hold on. 'Continued presence?' Kill her? _Lifetime?_ " Candela raised her voice when the woman nodded, unaware of how loud she was speaking. "What the hell are you saying? It got what it wanted, so can't she just tell it to fuck off or something?"

"You mentioned in your statement that Articuno had been injured by something and was resting inside the cave, right? I'm assuming you said that with confidence because it told you." Misty poked Blanche in the cheek and sighed. So young. "Well, that thing sometimes rescues doomed humans for fun, but not always for free. It'll be difficult, but if you could try to stay on good terms with it you'll probably have a longer lifespan."

"What kind of payment does it require?"

"It's probably using your body and life force to heal itself. In other words, it's roosting inside of you."

"How do you know all this? What can she do about it?"

"Something similar happened to a friend of mine a few years ago. He didn't last very long." The woman shoved her hands into her coat and stood, scowling to herself before she turned for the door. "I'll look into it and see if I can find more information for you, but for now my advice is pretty simple: go home to your family as soon as possible. Try to stay warm."

Misty left after handing Candela a business card with her contact information. The room was silent for awhile, except for the EKG. Blanche's heart was racing, her breathing shallow.

"I'm sorry," Candela said. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and held the other girl's hand. _This wouldn't have happened to you if I had been stronger._ "Can I get you anything? Do you need help getting back to Kalos?"

"I'm not going back."

"Don't be stubborn. What about your family?"

"I don't have anyone like that there." Blanche squeezed Candela's hand and tried to smile. "And I have plenty of business to settle here. I'd hate to leave things unresolved."

"That so? Don't tell me you're neck deep in _another_ research report." Candela chuckled when the other girl pointedly looked away, cheeks tinged red. She was grateful for a less terrifying subject to latch onto. "Seriously? What's your average now, two per week? How are you Mystics supposed to keep up with the other stuff?"

"Battles aren't the only important metric."

"Fair enough. So, what's this one about?"

"Ah, well you see, when I visited the Pewter Museum of Science last week I noticed that the skeletal structure of a certain ancient pokemon bore a strong, uncanny resemblance to that of Charizard. Upon close inspection, it's clear that—" Blanche stopped talking, her expression caught somewhere between a smile and a pout. "Sorry. I must be putting you to sleep."

"Far from it. Give me some credit here. I may be a jock but I'm not a _dumb_ jock," Candela said, grinning. "You mentioned something about the possibility of a distant evolutionary relationship the other day. Same topic?"

"Yes. Actually, would you like to read my paper before I submit it? It's only about twenty pages so far."

"Sure. In the meantime, why don't we ditch this city for somewhere warmer and hopefully normal? Vermillion sounds nice. Also, we should start training our eevees and your Abra, and Poliwhirl and I really need to work on our synergy. No time to mope around in a hospital bed, right?"

"That does sound nice," Blanche said, and somehow smiling came a little easier to her. "That reminds me. Have you named your Eevee yet? I've been trying to decide on an appropriate nickname for mine but have no idea how to go about it. Spark insisted on calling her 'Pockets.'"

"You've just gotta find something that fits her personality and go with it." Candela shrugged, and called out the rambunctious Pokemon in question, who immediately jumped onto Blanche's shoulder, licked her face, and began eating her soup. "I was thinking about using Greek mythology as a theme for my main teammates since it's something I sincerely like, and decided to call him Ares. He's gonna be a top tier fighter, for sure."

* * *

 **[Candidate #2, Kanto Route 5** **— GO Challenge Day 28]**

"This is sooner than your quote implied. I hope you didn't call me all the way for a runt that just looks a little funny."

"Well, I kind of did. It's my first time hatching a Shiny and all." Spark's smile faltered a bit. This client was nice enough over the phone, but seemed a bit sketchy now that she finally showed up to collect her pokemon. Most of her face was obscured by the shadow of her black newsboy cap, but he could see enough to tell she was sneering. "Aside from being adorable, she's literally perfect in every single way. It's incredible."

"Good. I'll take it, then." The trainer stepped forward to take the squirming eevee from him and he had to force himself to let go of it. Now that she was closer he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen her somewhere before, even though they were definitely meeting in person for the first time. Maybe it was just that the silver hair reminded him of someone. "Cute. How many have you hatched so far?"

"Oh, a little over two dozen now."

"Go ahead and deposit the five with the best stats back to my account, along with the parents." Despite her rigid posture, the newborn eevee immediately nuzzled into her trainer's arms. "Cute. Thanks for the hard work."

"Sure thing. That'll be 54,000¥. Have you thought of a name for her? I think 'Snowball' might be nice, since it started snowing in Cerulean right when

* * *

she hatched." Spark pressed a few buttons on the PC in front of him and smiled. Always gotta smile. "Will that be cash or credit?"

"You'll receive compensation within the next two business days."

"Okay. What should we do with the rest of the litter in the meantime?"

"Not my problem. I'm sure you'll figure something out," she said, winking at him before she turned to leave. Spark blinked rapidly. There was no denying it, not when he was staring her right in the face. "Have fun with that."

"Wait. Uh, Blanche? This isn't like you at all." Spark hopped over the counter and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's going on? Did something happen at the gym? Listen, I'm sorry about the other day, but you can't abandon all those Eevee kits here just because you're mad at me."

"What are you, my jealous ex-boyfriend?" she said, shrugging off his hand. "You must be mistaking me for someone else."

One moment, the blonde trainer was saying something, walking forward to follow her out of the daycare, and the next he was flat on his back with a bloody nose. He stared at the wooden ceiling, seeing stars and swirling balls of bright light.

"W-Wait... you have to bottle feed her every three hours, and you can't forget to—"

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. Isn't that right, _Snowball_?"

* * *

 **[A/N: This story updates a bit slowly, but please let me know what you think! Thanks to those qho have been following along from the beginning, and for reading this far.]**


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